


Sell My Soul, Steal My Heart

by Sunshine101010



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Slow Burn, a hella lotta fluff, but he means well, stupid snake man
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2020-04-11 14:04:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 46,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19111180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunshine101010/pseuds/Sunshine101010
Summary: You never thought you’d be selling your soul to a demon, but it seemed that when push came to shove, you did just that. You weren't hesitant to pay the price, but you sure as hell weren't ready for the consequences. Little did you know, your fate wasn't as bleak as it seemed.





	1. Worth the Cost

**Author's Note:**

> There is an alarming small amount of fics about this gentleman snake, so I’m just contributing my part :)  
> Hope you enjoy!❤️

The cold night air bit at my fingers as I continued to travel deeper into the forest. I couldn't seem to escape the chill that continued to seep into my skin. Clutching the heavy, weather-torn book in my aching arms, I couldn't help but feel as if something was behind me. Chasing me, taunting me.

It was a foolish thought. I knew that the real danger was up ahead. And I was the one who was about to unleash it.

Brambles seemed to reach out and grasp for my face, their prickly arms leaving scrapes across my cheeks. It wasn't much farther. While my legs were begging for me to stop, the prospect left a heavy weight on my heart. When I stopped running, there was no turning back.

I could never turn back from what I was about to do.

I tried not to think of that as I finally leaned against a tree to catch my breath. I tried to feel numb as my shaking hands flipped to the right page of the old, tattered book I had found in a place I shouldn't have been. It would be safe to conduct the ritual here. Isolation left my own life at a greater risk, but at least no one else would get hurt. This was my burden to bear.

Solely mine.

I placed the book on the coarse, barren ground and began drawing the symbols I had dedicated myself to learn with a small white piece of chalk. Whether from some strange sense of humor I picked up from dealing with these things or from pure delirium, I couldn't help but lightly laugh as I finished my handiwork.

How could an object as minuscule as a piece of chalk so heavily determine my future?

Standing back up, I braced myself one last time before starting to chant the forbidden words hidden from the world between pages of an old book I should have never opened in the first place.

Yet my determination wasn't wavering.

This had to be done. It was the only way I could get what I wanted. Call it selfish, but I was well-prepared to pay the price.

The wind pestering me this entire time started to speed up at an alarming rate. The trees bent and groaned around me as if begging me to stop. Thunder could be heard in the distance, and the gentle sound of crickets chirping suddenly ceased, causing the landscape to seem even colder. Even more threatening.

As I finished the ancient chant, a dark, foreboding cloud obscured the moon from its perch high in the unsettlingly dark sky, acting as a harbinger of my own uncertain fate. My vision was left far darker than it was to begin with.

And from the inky pitch black of my surroundings, there was a voice.

"Now, why would a human be s-s-summoning me at this hour? Young lady, shouldn't you be asleep right now?"

The voice caught me off guard, and I couldn't help but lightly gasp in shock at the sudden noise. The serpentine voice was laced with humor, it's lilting tone making light of a situation that left myself shivering. I couldn't decide whether to be grateful or even more frightened that I couldn't see the creature who just spoke.

But there was no time for fear. I had to do what must be done. For myself.

For my family.

"I have no time for sleep, um, sir," I tried to make my voice stop its shaking, but it was in vain.  
"I want to make a deal with you," I all but whispered softly, swallowing the lump growing in my throat.

"Oh, how entertaining. You've found some old relic to summon a demon powerful enough to grant your wishes, now have you? How positively greedy you humans are... It's dreadfully endearing. Now, what is it that you want so badly that you'd summon a gentleman such as I to your presence?"

His voice dripped with honey, but I was all but certain his sweet words were laced with venom. I could feel his cool breath near me, and my eyes had seemed to slowly adjust to the darkness just enough to determine a tall outline of a figure looming ever closer near me. I looked up, and the color instantly faded from my face as I locked eyes with the demon, his own eyes brightly glowing in the dark as his slitted pupils seemed to dilate with my gaze.

"I want... I need money. A fortune in exchange..." I couldn't bring myself to cough out the words.

"Ah, a fortune in exchange for your s-s-soul. That's a classic, now isn't it, dear? A bit... boring, to say the least. Ah well, what should I have expected... you humans are awfully predictable," the demon huffed in an annoyed manner, leaning in even closer to become face to face with me, letting me finally see him in entirety.

I took a few tentative steps backwards, scared of what was looking back at me. He was a snake demon of sorts. A very... dapper one. I must admit, I wasn't expecting him to be dressed in a suit and bowtie, but his top hat was admittedly quite charming... that is, until I realized it had an eye and was staring right back at me.

"The fortune, it isn't for me... Demon... sir," I stuttered hesitantly.  
"It's for my family. If you give them a fortune big enough to let my mother get the medicines she needs, if you give enough so that my dad won't ever have to work himself to collapse again, if you can keep my siblings from starving for weeks at a time, I swear. I swear I will give you my soul without hesitation. I'd give anything for my family."

I was surprised at how firmly I voiced my last statement, and it seemed the demon was a bit surprised as well.

"Hmmm... perhaps you do peak my interest," he said with a small chuckle.  
"Such bold determination from a weak thing such as yourself," he laughed patronizingly as he patted my head.

The soft scrape of his claws sent a shiver down my spine, and I could have sworn my heart skipped a beat as his hand curled around my jaw and forced me to stare him in the face. His fangs seemed to flash menacingly as he smiled at me.

"You're a very generous human, now aren't you? Those are few and far between, lovely. How noble of you, to sacrifice yourself for your family. You do realize you won't ever see them again if I take your soul, now do you?" He whispered to me, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yes, I'm well aware of the consequences of this deal," I answered back, recoiling slightly from his touch.

He suddenly dropped his grip on me and instead opted to thrust his hand out as if waiting for me to shake it.

"Very well then, Miss..."

"Y/N," I said in a hushed tone.

"Very well then, Y/N. When you shake my hand, this deal will be permanently binding. In exchange for I, Sir Pentious, to bestow upon your family a fortune of wealth enough to end their suffering, you, Y/N, will give me your soul, which I can do whatever I please with."

The wicked smile he gave me with that last statement made me beyond nervous, but there was no way I could ever turn back now. There was no regret in my heart as I placed my smaller hand in his own clawed one. There was only sadness and a deep feeling of dread.

Dread of what was to come, and dread of what I had done.


	2. One-Way Ticket

I could only look down in shock as my hand began to faintly glow with red light as the demon held it in his own worryingly firm grasp. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt. Instead, I could only feel a warm sensation bloom from my palm before washing over my body. Then it was gone, and in its place, I was left with an empty, cold feeling deep in my chest.

 It was as if something that was there suddenly disappeared. As if a part of me was misplaced.

 As if it was taken.

 I tore my attention away from my hand and looked back up at the creature I had just sold my soul to. He was staring right back at me, his face uncomfortably close to mine as he seemed to scan up and down my body. He then noticed my concerned face.

 "Ah, now where are my manners? I didn't mean to stare, it's just that I haven't seen a human in about a century and a half. It's-s-s... refreshing," he said as if in contemplation.

"The deal is complete," he continued, "Tonight, your family will have found a rather large fortune of 19th century family heirlooms and gold buried in their backyard. As for you, you will be coming with me."

 His face twisted in a much more sinister smile as he finished his last statement. He pulled me forward with his hand that was entangled in my own, and he used his other to grab my waist and push me against his chest. I instantly pulled my hand out of his and tried to push against him with my palms to gain room between us. This didn't achieve anything other than his hands gripping tighter at my waist, clawed fingers slightly digging into my skin.

 "What, what are you doing?" My voice surprised me with how minuscule it sounded.

 Sir Pentious let out an exasperated sigh.

"Stay s-s-still, won't you? If I had wanted to kill you, you would be dead already. Our departure back to Hell will be a rather rocky one if I don't hold you close. How does an eternity trapped in Limbo sound to you?"

 "I'm going to... Hell," I whispered so quietly that he couldn't hear. I became lightheaded with that realization, but for some reason my body felt like a bag of bricks.

 I was so very tired.

 I stopped resisting and decided to just rest my head on his chest while my hands found a place clutching onto his coat. I felt the demon's body suddenly become stiff as I settled against him. He cleared his throat and loosened his grip on my waist.

 "Yes, ahem, well, we'd best be off then," he said with a strange timidness in his voice.

 Was he... embarrassed?

 I didn't have much time to debate the thought as the forest scenery was suddenly ripped from my vision. Red blurred my sight, and I could feel the dreadful sensation of falling, yet I was still in the demon's arms. My grip on his coat was so tight that my knuckles were white. I could feel my body start to shake from fear and exhaustion, and I wondered if Sir Pentious could feel it too. I wondered what life I was going to have with this creature. I wondered what he was going to do to me.

 The thought made me tremble even more.

 After what felt like forever but was probably only a few minutes, the sensation stopped, and I realized we had made it. 

 A one-way ticket, straight to Hell.

 I opened my eyes and backed up on shaky legs as he released me. My surroundings still seemed blurry, and suddenly my legs gave out from underneath me. I was so disoriented that I couldn't even brace myself for the fall, but it seemed that there was no need to.

 One arm held me around my waist, and the other cradled my head. The demon loomed over me, eyes slightly wide and brow knitted in concern.

 Or maybe it was just aggravation.

 "Hmm, I forgot how... fragile humans are," the serpent stated, speaking more to himself than to me.

 Suddenly, he scooped me up in his arms and started carrying me through what I assumed was his house. The living quarters were decorated in a gothic, Victorian era style, with black and red furniture strewn stylishly about. It definitely wasn't what I was expecting a resident's of Hell house to look like. Then again, the snake demon wasn't quite what I was expecting, either.

 "Sorry, sir..." I paused in hesitation, "what are you planning on doing with me?"

 His eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch, and he seemed to actually be pondering the question himself.

 "Well, you seem to need some rest right now, and then, hm, we'll have to change your outfit. You look rather dingy. I'm a very respectable demon, and I won't let my reputation in Hell be sullied by a raggedly dressed woman roaming about my headquarters," he said with a huff as he stopped in front of a sleek red sofa and placed me down on it.

 I could feel my face begin to match the color of the sofa. Trying to hide my blush, I looked down at my attire. My knees were caked in mud from the forest, and my hand-me-down shirt and shorts were covered in a thin film of dirt. My hair had twigs and leaves stuck in it, and my arms had various scratches from the branches I had run through. I had lost my flimsy shoes in the woods and didn't even realize in my panic.

 I really was a mess.

 "Oh, right... Sorry," I said self-consciously as I hugged my body in embarrassment.

 He seemed to be about to say something in return, but his words were cut off from a small creature that ran up to us.

 "Boss! Wow, did you finally bring a girl home?"

I truly started to question my sanity when the small egg clad in business attire spoke to us. Maybe I had fallen in the woods and hit my head really bad. Could this all be a dream?

 Pinching myself, I realized this was in fact my strange new reality.

 

Dammit.


	3. Scrambled Thoughts

"Shut up before I turn you into an omelet," the angry serpent said as his cheeks tinted a darker shade. 

The sight of a demon that terrified me not twenty minutes ago becoming flustered from a talking egg almost made me laugh. If I wasn't  in such dire circumstances, I probably would have.

Looking around me, I realized more of these small egg creatures started to pop up out of nowhere. A dozen or two started to emerge from different areas of the house, all of them drawing closer to us with curiosity and playfulness in their little eyes. 

They all seemed to have something on their minds as well. Unfortunately, that subject, apparently, was me. 

"Boss, is she your girlfriend?" one piped up from his perch on a shelf. 

"Wait, that's a human!" another exclaimed as he hopped onto a nearby table. 

"Where'd she even come from?" 

The one who had first spoken up had wandered closest to me. He heaved his small round body onto the sofa next to me and extended a small hand in greeting. I recoiled a bit at first, but his wide smile and silly features convinced me that he wasn't much of a threat. I took his small hand in my own and gave it a gentle shake. 

"Nice to meet you, miss! Our boss never has ladies over, so you must be pretty special," the egg said with a wink. I couldn't help but think that the gesture was rather cute. 

"Nice to meet you, too" I answered quietly, a ghost of a smile finding its way onto my face. Out of all of the strange and scary things I had experienced today, it was rather nice to meet someone welcoming. 

Sir Pentious seemed to be growing ever the more aggravated with each new quip from the small creatures, but when he saw my small smile, I could have sworn that his expression softened. 

His calm demeanor didn't last very long, though. 

"Aright, everyone get busy before I s-s-smash you into tomorrow," he started, his voice only a hairs-breath away from a shout, "Y/N will be staying here from now on. I need one of you to go fetch her some food, and someone else go get her a change of clothes. The rest of you egg bois come with me and leave her alone. And if I hear one more stupid question from you eggheads, I s-s-swear on all things unholy that you'll become breakfast."

Simultaneously the... egg bois, as they seemed to be called, all stood to attention and either saluted or said "yes, sir" to the fuming snake next to me. Before I knew it, they all filed out of the room I was in. Sir Pentious soon followed suit, casting one last glance at me and hesitating before he left, as if he didn't want to leave. 

"The egg bois will s-s-see to you soon," he stated, his voice much softer in addressing me than to his henchmen, "I have business to attend to right now, but I will deal with your arrangements... s-s-shortly." 

With that, he closed the door to the room I was situated in, leaving me to my own devices. 

Leaving me to my own restless, scrambled thoughts. 

I decided to lay down on the plush couch. It was rather comfortable. I curled my body up, knees pressed against my chest and arms wrapped around them. I could hear my heart beating rapidly as reality crashed upon me like a ton of bricks. 

I was in Hell. 

I sold my soul to a demon. 

I was never going to see my family again. 

Every one of my nerves was on fire, yet at the same time I was extremely exhausted. Adrenaline pumped through my weak body as I laid there, curled up. Grief for my family consumed my thoughts, but I didn't regret my decision. The only solace I had was that I had finally relieved them from their pain. 

They were safe, even if I couldn't see them. 

I wondered if they had seen the note I had left them yet. I wondered if it was still on the tabletop where I had placed it before leaving when everyone was asleep. I hoped they would understand why I left them. I hoped they weren't grieving too badly. 

I hoped that they understood the burning intensity in which I had written that I loved them. I hoped that they knew in their hearts that it was true.

My thoughts wandered to the demon next.   
Sir Pentious. I wondered exactly what he was like, and what he had planned for me. So far, he hadn't treated me badly. He hadn't harmed me. In fact, he was rather gentle. I wondered whether it was an act. I wondered whether he was a wolf, or should I say, a snake in sheep's clothing, just biding his time to strike when I trusted him enough. 

I was so tired that even thinking was too much. My eyes felt weighed down, and before I knew it, I had drifted off into a restless, anxious sleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What did I tell you about stupid questions?" a shrill, serpentine voice said as it woke me from my slumber.

"It was more of a spur of the moment type of thing... I didn't exactly get a heads-up when I was s-s-suddenly transported into the Mortal Realm. Her deal seemed fair enough, in my eyes at least... I've never owned a human soul before, but I'm sure every hip demon in Hell has had one at one point, right? I'll find a use for her eventually, I'm sure," the snake demon pondered outside my closed door. 

I'm sure that an egg boi asked about me again, but the snake seemed to be thinking out loud rather than addressing the small creature's question. 

Hmm, so it seemed that even the demon didn't know what was held in store for my fate. 

Also, did I hear correctly, or did the snake demon just say that he wanted to be "hip"?

I sat up on the couch and rubbed my eyes, realizing that my whole body ached. I couldn't have been asleep for too long, since I still felt rather tired. 

"Oh, she's awake!" 

I jumped a bit as a small voice piped up beside me. Looking down, I realized that two egg bois were in front of me, one holding some folded clothes, and the other holding a plate with a sandwich and water placed on top of it. 

Well, who knew that they had sandwiches in Hell?

"We've brought you what our boss asked, Miss Y/N," the other one said as he placed the food on my lap.

"Thank you, I appreciate that," I answered politely in return as I examined the sandwich in front of me. 

It seemed surprisingly normal despite the fact that it was made in Hell. Maybe if I was less hungry, I would have refused the food in case it was poisoned, but I found that I really didn't care. Just as the demon said, if he had wanted to kill me, he would have already. 

Taking a bite, I realized that it wasn't that bad. My empty stomach thought it was amazing. I finished it quickly and then drank all of the water as well, not realizing how parched I was before. 

"You egg bois are very kind," I said as I placed the plate back in the creature's hands and patted his head gently. 

"Of course, ma'am," they both said in unison, their small faces becoming bashful. 

One of them took my hand in his own and started leading me to a different door. 

"The bathroom is right behind here. You can get changed, then our boss said for you to meet him once you were done," the one who had lead me said as the other placed the clothing in my hands. 

"Oh, ok," I said, a bit flustered from the promise of another encounter with Sir Pentious. 

Both of the eggs left with a small tip of their hat, which I thought was awfully charming.   
I tried to think on the bright side as I entered the bathroom and started the water, placing the clothes on the tabletop of the sink and peeling away my grimy clothes. 

Maybe life here won't be quite as bad as I thought it would.


	4. Bow Ties and Fate

Stepping out of the shower, I dried myself with a fluffy red towel. It had been awhile since I had bathed in warm water. My family could barely pay for food, so the water bill was usually out of the question. 

Well, at least it was for them. Not anymore. Not after this. Thankfully. 

After drying off, I finally examined the parcel of clothing I was given. Folded neatly on top of each other was a pair of black, formal pants along with a yellow and red striped dress shirt. There was even a small black bow tie placed on top of the bundle of clothing. 

Hm, they sure were fashionable, down here in Hell. 

I changed into my rather dashing new clothing, thankful to be rid of the grime I had previously been wearing. Honestly, I hadn't worn something this nice in quite some time. The shirt was a bit big, but it was soft and silky against my skin. I was pleased to see that the pants fit alright as well, but a part of me wondered how the egg bois were able to find something on such short notice. 

Finding a comb waiting for me on the counter, I brushed through my damp hair a bit until I deemed it tidy enough. Waiting outside the door for me was a pair of black flats, which I put on graciously. They pinched my toes a bit, but they were better than nothing.

I stepped out into the corridor of the room I had been sleeping in, hesitant as to where I was supposed to meet Sir Pentious. I straightened my shirt subconsciously as I prepared for my encounter with him. 

"Sir Pentious is in his study, Miss Y/N," an egg boi informed me as he stood by my feet. 

These little guys truly were everywhere, weren't they? 

"The study is just down this hall to the left," the small creature continued as he waved goodbye and ambled off to whatever chore the serpent had assigned him. 

Waving my own little goodbye to the minion, I followed the path to the study. My feet barely made a sound beneath the wine colored carpet, and as I walked, I realized how big the demon's house was. It made me feel tiny in comparison as I roamed through my unfamiliar setting. 

Before I knew it, I was at his door. I couldn't help but hesitate at first, pulling at my sleeves with anxiousness. I thought back at the demon's sudden burst of anger with his minions, and I wondered what he would do if that anger would ever be directed at me. Then I thought about the way he gently placed me on the couch, and the care he took in getting me new clothes and food. 

I gathered my courage and knocked on his door. 

"Come in," came the simple reply from the other side. 

I slowly turned the knob and stepped inside, cautious to close the door gently, as to not upset his silence. 

The room was a decent size, but it seemed a bit cramped with all of the things inside it. Partially completed machines and contraptions were strewn across the area, accompanied by several different types of screwdrivers, hammers, and other such tools. The only tidy area seemed to be the one that the serpent was currently situated at. He sat at a large desk, pondering over a large blueprint scribbled with incredibly confusing symbols and shapes. 

Finally, he tore his gaze from the paper and settled his eyes on me. His eyebrows slightly rose as he looked me up and down, taking in my new outfit and clean body. 

"Hmm... you clean up well, dear," he started, clearing his throat in the process, "I've been meaning to talk to you about your... situation. Well, come closer, I won't be discussing this with you from all the way across the room," he stated with a sigh, clawed finger beckoning me closer as he leaned lazily on the chair he was perched on. 

"Oh, uh right, yes sir," I said hesitantly while mimicking the salute I saw the other egg bois perform when receiving orders from the serpent. 

Best not to insult him or get on his bad side. 

The gesture only seemed to amuse him though, a smile creeping up on his face, baring his sharp teeth.

I didn't waste any time walking up to him, however hesitant I might have been to draw closer to the creature. 

He steepled his hands as I stood in front of him, still looking down at me despite being seated. It seemed to be the calm before the storm. His next words would spell out my fate. My entire life was left in the hands of this demon. I held my breath for what was to come. 

"You have the most s-s-sloppily tied bow tie I have ever seen in my life, and I have been alive for quite some time. Or rather, should I say that I have been dead for quite some time,"Pentious stated matter-of-factly as he leaned forward and grabbed a hold of my tie.

I tensed under his touch, shivering as his claws grazed over my neck as he expertly undid my tie. 

"Sorry sir, I don't even remember the last time I've ever worn one. I've only helped my brothers put theirs on when my family went to a wedding a few years back," I replied with an awkward shrug, flinching a bit as the snake started retying the small piece of fabric. 

"You don't have to s-s-say sorry so frequently, you know. I have no intention of harming you... if that's what your s-s-so stressed about," he stated as he finished his handiwork, gently tugging at the bow tie to straighten it. His hand then roamed a bit lower, pressing softly yet firmly right below my left collarbone, right where my heart was.

"Hmm... your heart is beating so very fast,   
Y/N. It's been such a long while since I've felt the beating of another's heart... Down here, none of us s-s-sinners have one," he said with a chuckle, making me unsure as to whether or not he was joking.

"That's pretty unfortunate, Sir Pentious. How do you love without a heart?" I told him softly, feeling my courage rise a bit as I addressed the demon. 

His smile seemed to widen at my question at first, but when he replied to me, it almost all but flickered off his face. 

"I... don't."

He suddenly straightened back up and released me from his hold, hand coming to rest on his cheek as he observed me with a more detached expression. 

"...As I was saying, Y/N, I've decided upon your future arrangements here. You will be working for me from now on until... well, eternity, of course," he said with a smirk, seeming to be enjoying bossing me around. 

"I'm a very influential demon here in Hell, so I might order you to attend various ceremonies and meetings with me, as my servant, of course. Furthermore, you'll be assisting me in my takeover of Hell and other such missions," he added offhandedly, as if ruling over Hell was a normal thing to chase after. 

"Finally, when you're not doing any of that, you can also double as my cleaning lady. I expect that you can keep my place rather tidy, can't you dearest?" he finished as he folded his hands in front of him, head tilting slightly to the side. 

"Yes, sir, I believe I can do that," I said with another quick salute, head still reeling from the information he just dumped on me. 

He suddenly fished out a broom from a heap of junk to his left and threw it at me, my hands flailing stupidly as I fumbled for the damned thing. 

After finally getting a good grip on the broom, I realized that my time with the snake demon was up as he turned back to his task without a second glance my way. 

I quickly made my way to the door, exiting the room just as I heard the demon speak to me one last time, sarcasm dripping from his voice. 

"Oh, and Y/N, I forgot to s-s-say... Welcome to Hell, I hope you enjoy your visit."


	5. Peering Through Windows

After I had left my meeting with Sir Pentious, I hadn't had much time to think. The moment I had exited the door, broom in hand, of course, I was swept away by an egg boi who had decided upon himself that he would show me the ropes. It seemed that all of the little creatures were happy to have gained another helping hand around the house. 

"This is where we do laundry, miss," said the egg enthusiastically as he stretched his small hands out in a grandiose gesture. 

"And here is the kitchen," he continued as he pulled me along, making me bend down to keep ahold of his small hand. 

As he scuttled ahead next to me, I realized that he had the number twenty-two painted onto his spherical body. Looking around me, it seemed that all of the egg bois had numbers on them. 

"So, are you called Twenty-Two?" I asked politely as he continued to drag me this way and that. 

"Oh, sure am! How'd you guess?" the egg asked. 

I giggled at his response, but when he waited for an answer, I realized he wasn't joking. 

The absurdity of this just made me laugh even more. 

"Oh, uh, lucky guess, I suppose," I stuttered out, trying my best not to continue laughing at the poor creature. 

Twenty-Two just smiled in response as he finally stopped moving, and my attention was directed to the large glass window in front of us. 

My jaw dropped. 

The yellow tinted window overlooked a giant city bustling with life below us. Neon lights and billboard signs were scattered all across the densely crowded area. While it was far away, I could still make out figures of all shapes and sizes walking to and fro different buildings and across streets. 

They were demons. 

There were thousands of demons just like Sir Pentious roaming around down there, and I was certain that each and every one of them could kill me if they'd like too. I was peering down at what Hell really looked like, and it was anything but pretty.

A tremor went down my spine. 

"Well, this is the end of the tour for now, miss," Twenty-Two stated matter-of-factly as two other egg bois entered from around the corner, holding brooms much like my own but considerably smaller, given their size.

"Time for work!" piped up another impish creature as he corralled me towards a small gathering of the eggs, all of them starting to sweep the floor or wash the windows. 

I quickly got the memo and began myself. As I started to sweep the rather dusty floor, I finally was able to mull over my situation. 

I supposed that as far as selling your soul to a demon goes, spending the rest of my life as a cleaning lady wasn't that bad. In fact, as I thought over all of the other horrible things the snake could have done to me by now, I decided I was quite content with being a housekeeper. 

At least I had pleasant company with me, too. 

"So, what's Sir Pentious like?" I questioned the nearest egg, who at the moment was dutifully picking up dust bunnies with his little broom. 

"Oh, he's just swell," stated the egg happily, "He's always making inventions and trying to expand his turf. He seems to really like you, you know," the creature added with a tilt of his head. 

"I wish Sir Pentious would like me," another egg boi said gloomily, his head lowered in defeat. 

"Oh, why do you think that?" I asked, genuinely curious for the answer as I absently patted the sad egg's head with sympathy. 

"Oh, well, he hasn't even screamed at you yet," the egg replied, as if it were obvious. 

"Yeah, Boss loves screaming at us," quipped another one as he continued to wipe the large window. 

"Well, you know, I think he was pretty lonely, that's why he wanted you to come live with us," said another egg wisely as he spit on his area of the window to remove a stain. 

"Lonely, huh? I didn't take him as the kind of man... er, demon to get lonely," I pondered, more to myself than to my company. 

The idea seemed ludicrous in my opinion, but it seemed like these eggs probably knew their boss better than I did. 

Could a demon without a heart truly feel lonely? 

The word seemed too human for a creature such as him. 

I decided to keep quiet after that, and the eggs followed suit. I swept the floor and cleaned windows until my back hurt and the dreary red sky had darkened a considerable number of shades. I wondered how many hours had past since I first arrived here. My aching body told me it was time for sleep. 

Just as I was about to ask the time, an egg piped up. 

"You can go rest now, Miss Y/N. We're done for the day and then some," he said with a friendly smile as he hobbled off himself to go sleep somewhere, I supposed.  

After a bit of searching for the laundry room, I finally found it and placed my broom in what I hoped was it's proper spot. Not knowing where to go, I decided that the red couch I had slept on earlier was a safe bet. 

Taking off my shoes and plopping onto the plush sofa, I tried to clear my mind as best as I could before drifting off to sleep. I tried not to think of demons or Hell or even my family. 

Unfortunately, that didn't work, and I was thrust deep into a nightmare.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was back in the forest, running as I once was before. But this time, I knew someone, something, was chasing me. As fast as I went, I knew I wasn't quick enough, wasn't strong enough to get away. Ahead of me, I could hear my family yelling for help, their voices frantic, and somehow inhuman. 

I tripped. 

I knew the creature was behind me without even turning to look. He was going to kill me. I turned around and two fiery eyes looks into my own. 

It was the demon I had sold my soul to. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up with a start, body trembling and a cold sweat dampening my chest. 

"Why in Hell are you sleeping on this old thing," a piercing voice asked from above me. 

I couldn't help but scream as I looked up in surprise, those same fiery eyes peering into my own. 

Sir Pentious. 

I scrambled to the end of the sofa farthest from him, still not awake enough to fully understand my surroundings. 

"Oh stop your shriveling, it's just me-" he started in an aggravated tone before stopping mid-sentence.

"Are you... crying?"

I placed a trembling hand up to my face and felt hot tears streaking down my cheeks. I could feel my face start to turn red. 

How embarrassing. 

"Oh, uh, sorry, I was just... having a nightmare," I answered weakly. 

"Hm, yes, I could very well s-s-see that," Sir Pentious replied softly, any trace of annoyance gone from his voice now. 

"Well, as I was saying, having you sleep on the couch simply won't do. I'd like to think that I'm a bit more classy than that, dear. Those imbecile eggs didn't even show you to your room, now did they? Come along now, I'd like to get some res-s-st myself," he said curtly as he leaned closer to me, one hand enveloping my own in a firm grasp and the other absently wiping stray tears from my face. 

Pulling me up, he proceeded to walk ahead of me in the now very dark corridor. 

More importantly, I proceeded to bump into everything like an idiot in the pitch black.

"Oh come now, are you really that helpless?" the same traces of annoyance from before laced his words. 

"Uh, humans can't see in the dark," I stated weakly before yelping from the sudden feeling of the demon lifting me into his arms. 

"Ah, yes, I had forgotten about that," Pentious pondered aloud. 

"Um, this isn't really necessary, I can walk myself," I said, not really wanting to be so close to the demon who I just had nightmares about. 

"What, and let you break every valuable I have with your bumbling? I'd rather not," he said grumpily as he wrapped his arms around me tighter and proceeded to carry me to my room. 

The silence was pretty awkward as I laid in his arms, trying my best not to shift against him. My head was right against his chest. 

Hm, if he had a heartbeat, I couldn't hear it. 

"Was your nightmare about me, Y/N?" the demon suddenly asked, breaking the silence as he stopped in front of a door. 

"...yes," I replied simply, wondering whether the answer would anger him but too afraid to be caught lying. 

He opened the door to reveal a very spacious bedroom, still conveying a Victorian design much like the rest of the house. He walked in and quietly placed me on the bed, looking down at me as if searching for something. 

"Yes, that's what I had thought," he finally stated, his voice carrying a strange tone to it. 

He sounded disappointed. 

He tutted softly as his claws reached for my face once again to wipe the remaining drying tears from my cheeks. 

I wondered why he seemed to care so much about wiping them off. 

I supposed that it didn't matter. 

"Well, goodnight, Y/N. Until tomorrow," he said as he left the room, the door closing shut behind him as he made his departure rather quickly. 

I wasted no time in burrowing myself underneath the covers, the soft, cool fabric soothing me. 

I prayed for a restful sleep and a good day tomorrow, no matter what came my way. 

Then again, I couldn't help but wonder how far prayers could get me when I was already in Hell.


	6. Idle Chatter and Chess

It had been a few days since my arrival in Hell. I wouldn't consider myself adjusted to life here, but I was getting into the swing of things, at least. I found that keeping myself busy with housework kept my mind from wandering to darker places.

It was still hard to sleep, and as I looked into the mirror every morning, I could see how my face looked more gaunt, dark circles apparent under my eyes. 

Nevertheless, I really couldn't complain. I had the company of the egg bois to keep me occupied, and I had to admit, I was growing rather fond of them. I wasn't ever really alone with their presence in the large house. Whether I was mopping the floors or resting on a chair, one or two always seemed to appear to offer their company. 

Sir Pentious, on the other hand, was a completely different story. He was constantly cooped up in his study as of late. He had only spoken to me a sparse handful of times over the past three days, but at least he showed no signs of aggression. 

I pondered over what he could be doing in there, what hellish creation he was conducting. I still didn't trust him, despite his kindness so far. As I thought about it, I realized though that I couldn't even find myself to resent him, despite the fact that he took my soul.

Despite the fact that I was damned to an eternity in Hell because of him. 

I couldn't quite place my finger on as to why I felt no distain for the demon. I still feared him, and I still was wary of his presence. The situation was much like the one I was dealing with at the present moment as I tried my hardest to remove a stain from the carpet I had currently been cleaning. 

The problem was right in front of me, but I couldn't seem to get to the root of it. 

I couldn't seem to remove it. 

Grunting in frustration, I was just about to call out to an egg boi for assistance, but suddenly, a voice broke through the stagnant silence simmering in the air. 

"Y/N, I would like your presence, if you would," came a voice emanating from the study. 

It was Sir Pentious.

I wasted no time in scrambling to my feet, heart fluttering in my chest like a butterfly in a cage. I all but sprinted to his study, pausing in front of the closed door for a moment, just as I did the last time I had entered it. 

Catching my breath, I walked into the room.

The study seemed to be even more messy than when I had entered it three days ago. Half-finished contraptions, metal parts, mechanical tools, and a few other miscellaneous items were scattered all across the floor and worktable. 

"You called for me, sir?" I asked, still lingering near the door.

"Is there any other Y/N roaming the premise besides-s-s you, dear?" scoffed the snake, not bothering to even turn to look at me as he continued to fiddle with some invention at his table. 

He was in an ornery mood today, I surmised. 

"No, sir. Sorry, sir," I curtly replied to his snide remark, a bit embarrassed from my foolishness. 

Suddenly, Pentious slammed his clawed hands on the table and cursed at the contraption in front of him. Letting out a long sigh, he turned slightly in his chair to look at me, dangerous agitation still flaring across his face. 

"You are my housekeeper, are you not?"

"Yes, sir," I replied slowly, afraid that this was a trick question. 

"And you s-s-see the mess all about this room, do you?" 

"I do."

"Then get to work and clean it up," he furiously hissed at me, hood flaring up and eyes dancing with fire. 

I backed up a few steps, the irrational part of my brain telling me to bolt. But where would I go? There was nowhere to run. Instead, I tried my hardest to still my trembling body while I started to clean the room, gingerly picking up items from the floor and placing them in what I hoped were their respective spots. 

The demon returned to his work and didn't talk to me for much of the time I was cleaning. When the room was finally looking better, I stumbled across something in a drawer I was tidying up in the far corner of the room. 

Blowing the fine layer of dust from the top of the square wooden box I had found, I realized that it was a chess set. 

I lifted it up to my eye level, examining the well-crafted box that seemed out of place compared to the usual scrap metal I had been picking up. 

"Do you play?" inquired Sir Pentious as he peered at me from his table, his voice a bit calmer than before and no longer so heavily etched with anger.

"I did, a little, with my siblings. Our chess set wasn't nearly as pretty as this one, though," I said lightly as I opened the box, revealing ivory and ebony colored chess pieces, elaborately chiseled into their respective roles. I was especially fond of the knights. The small horse pieces were so lifelike, so lovely. 

"It would be a waste to not use such a pretty thing, then," mused the snake, staring more at me than at the board.   
"That is, the chess set, I mean," he added in a rush as he adjusted his bow tie.

He placed his hand out towards me, palm up as he beckoned me closer. 

"Give it here, then. Pull up a chair, we can play one match, if you'd like," he stated nonchalantly, but the twinkle in his eye gave away his eagerness. 

It was almost cute. That is, if you could call a creature such as him "cute".

I walked up to him and handled him the box, his cold hands brushing against my own during the exchange. 

He had pushed his work aside, so there was room enough for us to play. Pulling up a chair to sit next to him, I couldn't help but feel a bit excited. 

It wasn't every day that you play chess with a demon, and the activity was much more fun than constantly cleaning. 

As he set up the pieces, I wondered why he even wanted to play. He had been such a solitary creature these last few days, and I pondered whether he was simply bored of his project or in need of a break. Maybe he was just an avid fan of chess. 

Perhaps he had become lonely. 

"S-s-so, how are you adjusting to Hell, Y/N?" the snake asked as he snapped me out of my reverie. 

"I'm doing... better than I thought I would. It's still hard to get used to. My whole life is very different now. N-not that I'm complaining, sir," I added quickly, afraid he'd get angry again. 

He simply glanced at me before gesturing for me to make my first move. Looking down, I decided to move one of my white pieces a square up, the polished stone making a quiet click against the board.

"That's understandable, I would s-s-suppose. You look rather worse for wear, though, dear. I thought giving you some s-s-space these last few days would benefit you, but you seem even more exhausted. Why would that be?"

My eyes widened a bit in surprise as the demon moved one of his own pieces. Why did he seem so worried about my well-being? I was under the impression that he didn't care much at all for me. I was only someone he could use, some... pawn he had control of. My gaze landed on the board, staring at my own white pawns neatly stationed in a row. 

I was expendable, insignificant, small. 

So why was he asking me how I felt?

"I guess that I haven't been sleeping very well. I'm used to the sound of my family moving around at night. Our house was pretty small, so I never felt alone. It's embarrassing, but I've been used to my mom coming to sing my siblings and I to sleep. I know that I'm an adult now, but she insisted. I never really asked her to stop though," I said with a small chuckle, thinking back on brighter times. Harder times. 

Funny, there seemed to be a lump in my throat. 

The demon's eyebrows knitted together as I made another move on the board, as if thinking about what I'd just said. 

The silence continued to string on as we fell quiet and just played the game. He was very good, but I wasn't going to give up without a fight. Then again, chances were looking bleak as he seemed to take a piece from me almost every turn. 

"You must hate me, don't you, Y/N," he told me suddenly, not so much asking as he was stating. 

"N-no, I don't," I replied quietly, fear suddenly creeping up on me. 

"Now, don't lie to me. It's a s-s-sin," he said with a bitter laugh, "You must hate me for stealing you away from your family, your life, your whole world. Be honest now, dear. I don't take kindly to liars-s-s."

I was quiet for a bit, mulling over my thoughts and listening to the gentle sound of Sir Pentious's nails as he tapped his fingers against the wood table. 

"I don't hate you, Sir Pentious. I realize that I probably should, but... I just, don't. I think I realize why now. I was the one who asked for this deal, and I was the one who summoned you. I brought this upon myself. The only thing that you've done is give my family a second chance at life. I'm... grateful that you were able to save them, and I'm grateful that you haven't hurt me," I said with as much confidence as I could muster. 

Sir Pentious widened his eyes, his head tilting slightly as if trying to figure me out. Finally, he picked up my white king on the chess board and examined it.  

"I don't know whether you're the kindest human I've met or the s-s-stupidest, Y/N. Truly, it's a shame that you gave your soul to me. You'd be on your way straight to Heaven," he said with a slight cringe, as if the mere mention of Heaven disturbed him. 

"Nevertheless, you won't last long here in Hell if you keep up that attitude. There's no mercy for the weak. I'd suggest you work on your defenses."

The snake placed my piece back on the board and moved one of his own. Looking closely, I realized that my king was trapped. 

"Checkmate."

An uneasy feeling settled over me. This was just a game, but I wondered what else I might lose in Hell. Something more important than a silly chess match. 

Like my life. 

I was just about to respond to the demon, but a sudden crash interrupted me. The sound seemed to come from nearby. 

Somewhere in the house. 

Following closely behind, a sudden explosion rocked the premises. 

We both jumped up out of our seats, I expressing a look of fear, Pentious simply looking pissed. 

"Stay here, I believe we have s-s-some unwanted company today," the snake scoffed. 

And with that, he left, leaving behind a very confused, concerned human girl who wondered just what she was getting herself into. 

He left behind me.


	7. A Smashing Entrance

Another explosion emanated from outside the study, making both the floor and myself shake. I paced back and forth in front of the door, wondering what was going on and who was setting off bombs. My thoughts turned frantic as I began to think about Sir Pentious and the egg bois. What if they got hurt? 

What if they died?

I probably shouldn't have been worrying over the life of my captor, but I couldn't help it. I didn't want Sir Pentious to get hurt. Even though he brought me to Hell, I couldn't find it in my heart to wish ill upon him. 

And then there was the egg bois. 

Thinking about their small, fragile bodies, I highly doubted that they could put up much of a fight against whatever was behind that door. The thought made me wring my hands together, my nerves seeming to tangle up into a knot in my stomach. 

I would be going against orders if I left this room. Sir Pentious had specifically told me to stay here. What would he do to me if I went against his wishes? 

Pondering over the consequences only made me more nervous. 

Another crash sounded from outside, followed by indistinct shouting. 

I pressed my palms flat against the door separating me from the destruction taking place and rested my forehead on the dark, polished wood. I thought back on all the kindness the egg bois had shown me in my short time here. I thought back on how, despite being rough around the edges, Sir Pentious had treated me well and maybe even cared for me. 

Thinking back on this, my frustration and confusion all seemed to dissipate, leaving in their place only firm determination. 

No matter the consequence, I was going to help them. 

My body acted faster than my brain as I bolted out of the room, making a beeline to where the noise was coming from.

Running around a corner, I finally made it to my destination. It seemed that the havoc originated from the large central room with the giant window overlooking Hell. Unfortunately, it seemed that something, or should I say someone, blasted a large, gaping hole in the thick glass. 

As I drew closer, I soon figured out exactly who did this. 

A woman was currently bickering with Sir Pentious as she continuously threw bombs and attacked whatever was in her perimeter. 

Although, calling her a "woman" was a bit of a stretch. Donning only a single eye and large, jagged teeth, she was anything but human. Her wild, unruly hair was almost as vivacious as her temper, I surmised. 

After a single glance, I knew this demon was not to be trifled with. 

Crawling around the premises, I tried my hardest not to be seen between the two bickering demons. It seemed as if Sir Pentious had a fair enough handle on things, and I wasn't quite sure how I would be able to help now that I was here. 

"Hey, old man, care to stay still for a second so I can blast your ugly mug into next week?" the bomb-slinging demon asked with a cackle right as she threw another bomb at the snake, Sir Pentious dodging it by just a fraction of an inch. 

Hm, so maybe he didn't have a handle on this situation as well as I had first believed. 

"Oh, as if you could ever beat me, Cherri. What, s-s-still bitter that I have a larger turf than you?" replied Sir Pentious with a wicked smile, his face the epitome of smug. 

Suddenly, a horde of egg bois assembled together, all of the small creatures carrying various weapons and such. I let out a gasp as they began to charge towards the demon called Cherri. 

This wasn't going to end well. 

The eggs were surprisingly fierce for their size, trying to attack the demon with everything they had.

Unfortunately, she was stronger. 

I didn't even realize that I was running towards the battle until I got into the thick of it, my legs seeming to have a mind of their own as I rushed to save the poor eggs. 

I watched in horror as Cherri punted one of them with a kick, the small creature flying into the air and heading straight to his demise. 

I jumped and reached for him, catching the small egg just in time before landing on the hard ground with an audible thump. 

Unfortunately, I didn't land very gracefully. 

The breath had been knocked out of me upon my landing, and I could taste the metallic tinge of blood in my mouth. Struggling to sit up, I was relieved to see that I had only busted my lip and gained a few scratches, but at least the egg boi I had saved seemed unscathed. 

Looking closer, I realized that he was Twenty-Two. 

"Get out of here," I wheezed out as I placed the egg on the ground and patted him forward, trying to reassure the worried creature with a forced smile. 

Before I could get away myself, I felt a hand grab me by the scruff of my shirt collar and lift me up, my legs dangling a few inches off the floor. 

"And who is this, Pentious?" asked Cherri with an absolutely malicious smile. 

Oh shit. 

"She is none of your concern and not involved in any of this-s-s. Let her go." 

I had never seen Sir Pentious look this furious before, his voice practically dripping with venom and his hood flaring as he narrowed his eyes at the other demon. 

"Not involved, huh? Then why do you seem so pissed about me holding on to this shrimp, huh, Pen?" Cherri taunted, "And what the hell are you doing with a human?" 

As she was talking, I struggled in her grasp, reaching up to claw at her fingers so she'd let me go. 

Her free hand swung back before I could even register the motion, slapping me with force enough to leave a bruise. 

I decided to stop struggling. 

Sir Pentious hissed in anger, drawing closer to Cherri with unchecked rage in his eyes. 

"Ah, ah, ah," Cherri scolded lightly while she wagged a finger at the snake as if talking to a child. 

"Take one more step, and I'll throw this bastard out the window," Cherri said with a laugh, seeming to truly enjoy this. 

Sir Pentious stopped, hesitation, fury, and distress all flashing across his face.

"Now, how 'bout I ask again. What are you doing with a damn human?"

"Ah, well, I sold my soul to him," I interjected, voice just above a whisper. 

Cherri seemed to finally avert her eyes, ahem... eye towards me. Looking me up and down, she gave me an almost predatory glare. 

"Oh, really? Sounds like a dumb bitch move to me," she said with a nasty laugh before her facial features twisted into something more provocative, "Hey, does he have your soul and body that he can use, sweethear-" 

Her sentence was cut off as a sudden egg-shaped blur of white knocked her to the ground. 

I wasted no time in grabbing Twenty-Two from Cherri before running away, heart leaping in my throat as I ran smack dab into Pentious and fell on my butt. 

An army of eggs charged once again at the fallen demon and grabbed at her arms and legs before getting a good hold of her. 

"I'll be back, you stupid old man, and next time, I'll make sure you die a second time" shouted Cherri right before she was tossed out of the broken window. 

The fall seemed pretty far down, so I only hoped that she wouldn't come back anytime soon. 

Letting go of the brave little egg, I realized that the danger wasn't over quite yet. 

Well, for me it wasn't. 

Sir Pentious peered down where I sat, anger still prominent on his face. 

Only this time, the anger was directed towards me. 

Grabbing me by the front of my shirt and lifting me up to my feet, I could tell that the snake was trying to hold back his temper. 

"What... in all of Hell..." he started quietly before raising his voice to a shout, "Did you think you were doing?" 

"Did I not s-s-say to stay in the study, Y/N? You must have not heard me, because I know you're at least not that idiotic to disobey me," he hissed through his fangs as he began to lift my arms to check for any cuts or scrapes, moving on to examine the rest of my body before grasping my face and tilting it this way and that while he scanned over my bruising cheek and busted lip. 

I tried to steady my breathing as I replied to him. 

"I heard you, sir... but... I couldn't just stand idle while you and the egg bois were in danger. I didn't want anyone to get hurt. If I hadn't been there, Twenty-Two would have died," I said forcefully, gathering my courage to tilt my chin up defiantly at the snake, despite my fear. 

The demon suddenly raised a hand, it arching threateningly fast towards me. I closed my eyes and flinched, bracing myself for pain that never came. He had slammed it against the wall behind me, shaking the picture frame hanging a few inches to the left of where his palm made contact. 

His voice sounded chillingly cool as he began to speak, his anger changing from a burning, crackling flame into a white-hot fire. 

"Ah, s-s-so you'd like to gain back your courage now, do you? I haven't seen you this adamant about anything since the first time we met, back when you told me you'd give anything for your precious family. Why is it that you only become hard-headed when you're doing something foolish, Y/N? If you keep giving yourself up for others, there won't be anything left of you, dear," he said harshly as he suddenly grabbed me by the waist and lifted me over his shoulder, starting to walk with me in his grip. 

My whole body hurt from the event that just occurred, and his anger and harsh words made me feel even worse. My lack of sleep and the stress I had been through seemed to all crash upon me at once. 

"I'm sorry that I went against your orders, Sir Pentious," I mumbled, trying to wipe my tears before he could discover them. 

"I was just worried about you... I didn't really think you'd care if I'd gotten hurt," I finished lamely, throat clamping up to the point where I couldn't say anything else. 

I could feel his body tense after I had spoken, and his head seemed to shake side to side slightly as if in disbelief. 

He cleared his throat before placing me down on the red sofa I had come to know on my first day here, and his piercing eyes caught sight of my falling tears, making his mouth twist into a frown while his eyebrows knit together. 

"Now, now, don't start crying," he said uncomfortably as he fumbled through a cabinet to the left of the couch and pulled out what looked to be a first aid kit, voice considerably softer than a few moments ago. 

He quietly started to tend to my wounds, being surprisingly gentle for how angry he was minutes ago. 

When he got to my face, he seemed to take extra care in tending to my lip, clawed fingers softly brushing over the uninjured part of it while he meticulously examined and cleaned the cut part with disinfectant. 

He let out a large sigh as he finished his work, going so far as to once again wipe away my tears in much the same way he did three days ago. 

He hesitated before speaking again as he backed up and away from me, hands behind his back, leaned slightly forward to look me in the eyes. 

"I don't want you to get injured again, Y/N. I do... care when you get hurt. S-s-so please, try not to get yourself in trouble anymore," he said in a strained tone, averting his eyes once he was finished as if in embarrassment as he ruffled my hair with a hand. 

I couldn't even respond before he spoke again, turning around and waving a hand in departure. 

"Consider today a day-off. I think you've been through enough excitement for the morning. Don't worry about the mess-s-s in the main room, the egg bois will take care of it," he said in a deadpan voice, as if trying to make up for the display of emotion he showed just seconds earlier. 

With that, he left, closing the door behind him and leaving me with a head stewing over the string of events that just occurred. 

I touched where his fingers had been on my lips. 

How strange. 

Why was I blushing?


	8. Apologies and Melodies

I shifted uncomfortably on the red sofa I was perched on, body feeling rather achy from face planting on the floor about twenty minutes ago. My cheek stinging with pain, and I could feel my lip begin to throb. 

I skimmed my fingers over where Sir Pentious had touched me again, face still flared a bit hot. 

My thoughts wandered to what he had said, how he had cared for me, the way his hands gently tended to my body. 

I crossed my legs and facepalmed, running one hand through my unruly hair. 

What was wrong with me?

"Wow, Miss Y/N, I think boss really likes you," piped up a small voice that seemed to appear out of nowhere. 

I jumped in surprise, heart leaping out of my chest. Looking all around me, my eyes finally settling on an egg boi who had peeked his head from behind the sofa. 

"Wha- wait, how long have you been here?" I asked bewilderedly as the egg scooted up onto the sofa and sat next to me. Taking a quick look at the number on the egg's back, it seemed to be none other than the infamous Twenty-Two. 

"Oh, this whole time," replied the egg sweetly, oblivious to my embarrassment. 

Ah, just kill me now. 

"Oh, uh, well..." I muttered with a shrug, not knowing what to say to the small creature and deciding rather to anxiously ball up the loose fabric of my shirt than discuss the topic. 

"Thank you for saving me earlier, miss, I really appreciate it," Twenty-Two continued, his small face donning a cute smile. 

"No problem," I said with a small smile of my own, finally regaining at least a bit of my composure. 

"You saved me too, you know. So I guess we can call it even," I jokingly continued with a wink as I leaned in and hugged the little egg. 

Standing up and stretching my body, I tried to shake off my uneasy feelings and previous anxieties. I had a whole day to myself, and I decided that rather than moping around, I'd take advantage of it. 

"Alright, Twenty-Two, we have a full day ahead of us. So, what do you do for fun?" 

"Oh, that's an easy one. For fun, I help our boss with his turf wars!" exclaimed the egg as he jumped a bit from excitement. 

"Ah, ok, but, that's what you do all the time, right? It's your job. I'm asking what you like to do on your own time when you have no work," I tried to explain as sweetly as I could. 

"Now I understand," the egg exclaimed as if he just had an epiphany.

He stood in front of me for a few moments, apparently deep in thought as he pondered over the trivial question of what he liked to do in his spare time. 

"I got it," Twenty-Two finally spoke up, "We should go and clean the bathroom! That's always fun!" 

I facepalmed for the second time that day. 

Realizing that I was getting nowhere with the egg, I instead opted for him to join me as I decided to roam the house to find something to do. Despite being here for days, I still hadn't explored the entirety of the large Victorian estate. 

It crossed my mind to check the study and see if Sir Pentious wanted my company, but something made me feel anxious about encountering the demon once again. 

Surprisingly, I realized that whatever that something was, it wasn't really fear. It was more like a fluttering in my heart. A sense of anxiousness mixed with... excitement?

How very strange my thoughts had become. 

As I continued my small journey across the house, I was pleased to discover a large library.  
I walked through the spacious room, head twirling this way and that to take in all of my surroundings. There were hundreds of books perched on shelves and littered on the ground in messy stacks, high arching walls giving the place a spacious feel. 

"Who was that demon who attacked us, anyway?" I asked the nearest egg boi as I absently flipped through some pages of a book that had caught my eye. 

"Oh, Cherri Bomb? She's one of our boss's rivals. They fight for territory all the time," replied the egg as he started jumping to reach for a thin book on a higher shelf. 

I hummed to myself as I plucked the book out of its resting place and handed it to the small egg, pondering over what he had said. 

I wondered if Cherri Bomb was truly going to keep her promise. I didn't want Sir Pentious to die. Even with all of my conflicting emotions towards the snake, I was at least sure about that. 

Shuffling through various shelves, I realized that most of these books were about mechanics and other such hobbies relating to Sir Pentious's occupation. After a bit of searching, I stumbled upon a collection of books in the far corner that were a bit more interesting. 

Settling into a plush chair, I began to read from one. It was some frivolous novel about adventure and romance meant simply to kill time and boredom. Hours past as I sat and read, my eyes growing tired as the light from the window next to me simultaneously grew dim. 

After awhile, I placed the book down and stretched, deciding to take a shower and then retreat to my bed early. 

As I made my way to the bathroom, I realized that it was rather odd that I hadn't seen Sir Pentious at all for the remainder of the day.

He always seemed to appear out of nowhere just to disappear twice as quickly. I wished I could simply wrap my head around his motivations, his feelings for me. One second he would be so kind, and the next he would become so distant. I wished dearly that I could trust him, but I found such a thing hard to do when I couldn't even put my thumb down on his true intentions with me. 

All these thoughts danced around in my head as I bathed and then slipped into my pajamas, emotions and questions tripping over their own feet.

I wandered over to Sir Pentious's study once I was done, hand ghosting over the door handle leading me inside. 

I knew he was in there. I could see a faint yellow light through the cracks of the door, illuminating the otherwise dark hallway. 

I wondered what he was working on at this hour. 

I decided not to bother him, instead going back to my room for some much needed sleep. Sighing as I placed my weary head on my pillow, I tried to convince myself that my thoughts would become much clearer in the morning. 

After much tossing and turning, I fell asleep, hand resting on my lips. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up with a start, gasping for breath as a wave of terror washed over my body. Jolting up in bed, I grasped at the bedsheets, looking for something, anything, to help anchor me back to reality. 

Another nightmare. 

The clock on the wall to my left said it was three in the morning. 

I shuttered. 

I hadn't had a full night's sleep since I had arrived here, and the occurrences and severity of my nightmares were only getting worse. I knew the reason behind them, but I couldn't seem to shake them off. 

In my half-delirious state, I wondered if these reoccurring dreams were my punishment here in Hell. Retribution for my foolish actions. Just another price I had to pay along with losing my family. 

My door creaked open, ripping me from my thoughts. 

Icy tendrils of fear gripped at me as a tall shadow entered the room, my eyes still not adjusted enough to the dark to see exactly what was entering my chambers so late at night. I pulled up the covers to my chin, as if the thin fabric could offer any protection. 

"Who... Who is it?" I weakly whispered out, voice shaking, not able to take the suspense any longer. 

Two crimson colored eyes glowed lightly in the darkness, peering down at me with slitted pupils. 

"Ah, I didn't expect you to be up, Y/N," Sir Pentious softly replied as he drew closer to me, stopping as he rested himself at the foot of my bed. 

I sat up straighter, debating over whether to feel scared or relieve that it was him. Perhaps I felt a bit of both. 

"Just another nightmare, sir," I said in a vain attempt to assure him that I was fine. 

"Hmm... I s-s-suspected so..." he said, concern lightly laced into his words. 

"I know it's rather late, but I was just stopping by to leave something here for you. It's a... gift. Well, a gift... and an apology," he continued as he moved the arm behind his back into view, displaying something in his hand. 

I leaned to the side and turned on the lamp next to me, illuminating the room in a weak light. 

Finally being able to look at Sir Pentious clearly, I realized that he seemed the most unkept I'd ever seen him before. His jacket was off, leaving him only in a button-up shirt, sleeves rolled up and arms stained with grease from what I assumed was his project. 

In his hand was a small wooden box, chocolate colored with a glossy varnish. The edges were carved with intricate designs resembling interweaving brambles, complete with small leaves and flowers. Roses, specifically. 

It was lovely. 

"This is for me?" I asked in awe as I scooted closer to him, fear slowly ebbing away as the item took hold of my curiosity. 

"Ahem, yes," he said slowly as he cleared his throat, looking almost anxious as I drew closer, his cheeks dusted a slightly darker shade. 

"Sir Pentious... are you embarrassed?" I asked with a small smile, amused at the demon in front of me as he rigidly sat on my bed, fiddling with the collar of his shirt. 

"What, no, certainly not. I s-s-simply was a bit surprised that you were awake. If I had known, I would have dressed a bit more appropriately during such an... intimate hour," he said abashedly, brushing down his wrinkled shirt as he let out a huff. 

I couldn't help but giggle at his antics, watching his face make a frazzled expression as he avoided my eyes. 

"Within a day you both disobey my orders and blatantly tease me when I'm trying to make amends," the demon said with a pout, "I might just prefer you when you were scared senseless of me just a few days prior..."

"Do you really prefer me when I'm scared of you?" I asked gently, sincerely. 

"...no."

I tried not to make my smile look as smug as I felt. 

"Now stop with all these silly questions, won't you?" he asked, voice rising a bit in frustration. 

"Hmm... why do you find them silly? Is it because they make you uncomfortable?" I couldn't help but ask. 

Perhaps the fear from the nightmare I just had made me a tad more reckless than I usually was. 

"Oh, just be quiet won't you?" he said in a defeated tone, causing me to stay silent as he handed me the wooden box. 

I opened it, revealing a delicately crafted rose on a platform. Noticing the lever on the side of the box, I gave it turn, causing the metal rose to rotate in a circle as a soft melody filled the space between the snake and me. It sounded like the the gentle babbling of a brook: calm, lilting, soothing. 

"As I was saying, I brought you a gift. You had said how you were having trouble s-s-sleeping, so I thought I'd remedy that. I know that it won't compare to your mother's singing voice, but I thought perhaps that a music box would help you drift off more peacefully. I can't have you falling asleep on the job, now can I? And I'd rather not see you with dark circles under your eyes-s-s, you know."

I stared quietly at the beautiful music box, admiring it while my cheeks flushed, my brain barely processing what he'd said. 

"If it's not to your liking, I'd understand," Sir Pentious hesitantly added, looking uncomfortable in the silence. 

"I built it rather quickly... I must admit. I s-s-simply wanted it completed within the day so that you'd be able to rest as soon as possible," he continued, once again pulling at his collar. 

"S-s-should I just take it bac-"

I interrupted his last sentence as I placed the music box to the side before leaning forward and hugging him tightly, arms wrapped around his neck as I buried my head in his chest. 

I could feel his body go taunt as I hugged him, his own arms hovering around me as if unsure what to do before he decided on resting them around my waist and pulling me even closer. 

"Thank you, Sir Pentious. I love it," I said softly against him, a bit embarrassed by my sudden action, but completely sincere. 

His thoughtfulness surprised me, and the beauty of his handmade gift touched my heart. In the entirety of my life, I hadn't received very many gifts. The nature of my family's financial status made them scarce, but it at least made me realize the value of one. 

It wasn't so much about the object given as it was about the emotion conveyed through it. I treasured the unspoken words shared between Pentious and I through the soft sound of a lullaby breaking through the darkness and silence of a quiet room, the melody in time with each inhale of breath. 

I meant every word when I told him I was thankful. 

"It's no problem, Y/N," he said distantly, as if lost in thought as he squeezed me tighter in his arms. It made me wonder when was the last time he had received a hug. 

"How did you even make this within a day? It's amazing."

"Well, I've had a century and s-s-some change to practice," he replied as I felt him shrug against me. 

"You're not what I expected you to be, you know. You're very kind," I whispered softly, shifting against him so he couldn't catch my eye. 

I could feel the soft rumble of a laugh bubble up from his chest. 

"Now, don't be foolish, dear. I'm many things, but I'm far from kind, let alone very," he said almost bitterly, claws slightly digging into my skin.

"As I was s-s-saying earlier... I wanted to apologize, as well. I shouldn't have raised a hand to you today. My anger overwhelms me much more often than I'd like," he said quietly. 

"The last thing I'd want is for you to believe that I'd harm you," he finished, voice strained as if it was difficult for him to admit, his claws tracing circles on my back as he held me close. 

"It's ok, Sir Pentious. I understand," I replied, finally glancing up into his eyes. 

He looked a bit confused, a bit tired, and a bit relieved. 

He finally released me from the embrace, crossing his arms slightly as I backed up into my previous position in bed, placing the music box right next to me on my nightstand. 

"Well, it s-s-seems everything is in order now," he said a bit loudly, standing up and straightening out his shirt rather quickly. 

"I'd best be on my way, then. I'm sure you'd like to s-s-sleep, yes?" he added, already moving towards the door. 

"W-wait!" I exclaimed a bit too loudly myself. 

"You always leave so fast..." I added lamely, face already hot. 

"Wouldn't you rather me leave? I give you nightmares," he stated matter-of-factly, as if it was obvious that I wanted him to go. 

"That was before I knew you. Before I realized how kind you are," I said softly. 

I could hear him sigh as he moved closer to me, reaching out to tuck me under the covers. His hand grasped my chin lightly as he made me gaze into his eyes. 

"Please don't persist so much on thinking of me as kind, dear," he said so quietly that I almost didn't hear. 

After making sure I was tucked in, Sir Pentious turned the lever on the music box a good few times before placing it back down. 

"Goodnight, Y/N," he finally said as he closed the bedroom door behind him, the sound of it shutting drowned out by the gentle song emitting from the box. 

I closed my eyes and fell asleep quicker than I had in days. 

Strangely, I had a dreamless sleep the remainder of the night.


	9. Out of the Frying Pan

I adjusted my shirt as I looked in the mirror, flattening down any crinkles on the soft fabric. I was rather happy to say that I had finally gotten the hang of tying my bow tie, even if it had taken a whole week to get used to. 

As I stepped out of my bedroom and headed towards the central area of the house to mop, I couldn't help but reflect back on the past week I'd spent here in Hell. 

It had been fairly quiet since Cherri had appeared. Even so, I still couldn't shake off the small traces of paranoia telling me that she'd be back soon. 

I tried my best not to think of her. 

Lately, I found myself trying not to think about a lot of things, like my family and friends and how much I missed them. 

Like the fact that I was becoming increasingly restless from being cooped up here for so long. 

Sighing, I tried my best just to enjoy the silence and calm stillness of my surroundings as I mopped, eyes feeling a bit heavy as I softly hummed to myself. 

"You absolute imbeciles-s-s are even more incompetent than I had ever thought," screeched a furious voice emanating from the study. 

Well, so much for peace and quiet. 

I placed my mop down and quickly rushed towards the noise, wondering what was wrong. Even with my growing worry, I made sure to stay out of sight.While my fear of Sir Pentious was dwindling, it was still very much present. 

And I had learned by now that he could become quite explosive when he was angry. 

"You eggheads have brought me the wrong damned screws again. Did I not specifically say which ones I needed? Did I not??" 

Peering into the study through a crack in the door, I quickly realized the situation. 

Three egg bois stood shaking in front of the demon, one of them presenting a pack of screws that seemed to enrage the snake beyond belief. His hood was flared, venom in his voice, and maybe even in the fangs that he was currently flashing towards the eggs. 

The sight made me frightened, head torn between leaving the scene or entering the room to protect the eggs in case he lashed out. 

I leaned closer to the door, cupping my ear against it while trying to see through the small space between the doorframe. 

"Y/N, were you never taught as a child not to linger in doorways? Eavesdropping won't grant you any favors-s-s with me," Sir Pentious said agitatedly, his eyes suddenly locking with my own through the crack in the door. 

My body went cold as my cheeks turned hot. 

"Ah, uh, sorry sir, I just heard shouting... I was worried... I didn't want to interrupt," I stuttered as I entered the room, leaving the door open behind me. 

"No, of course you didn't," the snake replied bitterly. 

He sighed heavily, hand reaching up to rub at his temple, his anger seeming to deflate, if only slightly. 

"If you want s-s-something done right, I suppose you have to do it yourself," he stated, heading towards me as he gave the eggs one final menacing glare. 

"Come along, Y/N. I believe that we are going to run a quick errand today. It shouldn't take long," he said as he pressed a hand to my back, pushing me out of the door with him and guiding me through the house, claws brushing against my skin, making me shiver. 

"If I may ask, where exactly are we going?" I questioned, confused. 

"Why, straight down into Hell," he replied with a rather sinister laugh, looking down at my frightened expression with a smirk. 

"Wait, you mean we're going down to the city? The one that the big window overlooks?" I asked nervously, anxiety slowly creeping into my skin. 

"On the nose, Y/N," he said as he made us stop in front of a large door, removing his hand from my back as he reached for a shawl hanging on a coatrack close by. 

This door was definitely different from the rest in the house, comprised of harsh steel with intricately carved patterns along its edges, foreboding and unrelenting, yet beautiful. 

For me, it was a prison disguised as an exquisite piece of art. 

Lovely, yet suffocating. 

It was the exit to the house I was trapped in. 

Sir Pentious wrapped the shawl around me, making a sort of hood to obscure my face. 

"Best not to draw any attention, dear. Humans aren't exactly common here, if you couldn't tell," he added as he finished, hand lingering on my cheek a few seconds longer than necessary.

"Alright then, shall we be on our way?" he asked, holding out an arm for me to take. 

I hesitated, clasping my hands together as I tried to steady my breathing. 

"Well, I was mopping just now. Maybe I should go back and do that? I'm sure I won't be any help to you outside the house... I should probably stay," I softly answered, my nerves getting the best of me. 

I knew that I had wanted to get out, but this was all so sudden. I wasn't quite sure if I was ready to venture out into the middle of Hell. 

I clutched tighter to my shaky hands. 

Sir Pentious peered down at me, raising one eyebrow as his mouth settled into a smug grin. 

"Oh, come now, don't tell me you're s-s-scared of a little stroll in the neighborhood," the demon said with a small chuckle, patting the top of my head in a patronizing manner. 

"Dear, there's no need to worry. You're being escorted by the next ruler of Hell, in case you have forgotten," he added, adjusting his bow tie in a prestigious manner. 

Hmm, I wondered if he ended up in Hell because of his incredibly inflated ego. 

"I won't let any harm befall you, if that's what's got you riled up. I had thought that you'd enjoy a quick stroll... You've been looking rather pale as of late," he said curtly, as if trying to brush off the underlying concern in his voice. 

"Right, yes sir," I murmured, still hesitant but realizing that I really didn't have a choice. 

Sir Pentious's smile subtly shifted into a frown. 

"Oh, don't give me that face. I promise this will be very 'cash money,' so there's no need to worry," he told me, putting extra emphasis in his speech when he said "cash money." 

Wait, did he just say cash money?

"Uh, sir, what did you say?" I asked, suddenly given whiplash from the slang he just used. 

"What, that there's no need to worry?" the snake asked with a quizzical look. 

"No, before that."

"Cash money?"

I covered my mouth with my hand, but even that couldn't contain the uncontrollable fit of giggles the snake demon gave me. 

"And why are you laughing at me, Y/N?" the snake asked with an annoyed tone, crossing his arms as he started to pout. 

"I just.. oh, I'm sorry, I just..." I stuttered, trying to hold in my laughing, "I just never expected you to say something like that. Why the sudden slang?"

"Is cash money not a term used to describe something that is positive? I believed that all of the up-to-date demons used this phraseology, or was-s-s I wrong?" Sir Pentious asked, face suddenly becoming a bit bashful. 

"No... people don't really say that much. If you want to be updated with stuff like this, you could always ask me whenever. Then again, maybe you should just stick with your normal way of talking," I said softly, the onslaught of laughter finally ceasing as I gave him a wide grin. 

He glanced down at me, seeming to notice my amused expression and smile. 

Once again, he held out an arm for me to take, and this time I looped my own with his without any hesitation.

"Hmmm, I might just take you up on that offer, granted that you don't laugh at me again, young lady," he teased, donning a small, defeated smile himself as he opened the door and guided us outside.

We walked in a comfortable silence for a bit as we traveled closer to the city, considering that Sir Pentious's estate was a short walk away from the bustling urban area. 

As we drew closer, the smell of smog filled my nose, neon lights becoming irritatingly bright and the sounds of demons shouting close to deafening. 

"I believe that the hardware store is right around this corner," the snake demon spoke up, pointing towards an area up ahead. 

I tried to avert my eyes as we passed increasingly... questionable establishments. The bustling city was like Vegas on steroids: casinos, drug dealers, bars, and prostitutes everywhere you looked. 

Sir Pentious tugged me closer to him as we walked by an especially rowdy group of demons, their eyes peering at me as I tried to hide my face further. 

Finally, we made it to the hardware store, which, unsurprisingly, was far less busy than the bar next to it. 

Sir Pentious held the door open for me, a gesture so chivalrous that it looked extremely out-of-place in my sinister surroundings. 

"Ladies-s-s first," he said with a wink, smirk plastered to his face. 

I all but stomped inside, averting my face from him to hide my blush. 

"This place looks nice," I said softly as I looked around the small shop, gathering my bearings. 

The stench of pollution was heavily decreased inside the shop. Instead, the pleasant smell of sawdust filled my nose. Materials and tools lined every corner of the room, shelves stacked somewhat orderly with various items throughout the store. 

More importantly, the shop was empty besides Sir Pentious, the clerk, and me. It made me feel much safer than outside. 

"Yes, well, I rather enjoy it here as well," the demon said gently, looking down at me with a sort of fondness in his eyes. 

"Stay near me, Y/N. You can never be too cautious-s-s in Hell. Especially when you have nothing to defend yourself with..." he added, eyebrows knit in worry. 

"I can handle myself, Sir Pentious. I've had my fair share of danger before," I replied, straightening up my posture a bit, trying my best to look capable. 

I didn't want him to think of me as a weakling. 

Wait, why did I care about what he thought of me?

"Oh, I'm very s-s-sure you can handle yourself. Then again, what beast would want to provoke someone as daunting as you, the protector of eggs?" the snake asked, sarcasm staining his words, not even trying to conceal his laugh as he reached out and pinched my cheek in a derogatory manner. 

"H-hey," I protested weakly, feeling my face grow hot as I backed away from the snake, trying to brush off my embarrassment with an awkward laugh of my own. 

"Hmm... it's rather nice to have someone to shop with," he murmured, lazily gazing at me with a smile. 

He turned his back to me as he started to stroll through the shop, one hand beckoning me to follow. 

I stayed a respectable distance near him as I looked around the shop myself. The thought crossed my mind to get him something, given the fact that he had so graciously given me that lovely music box just a few days ago.

I quickly realized that I had no money, so that idea was quickly thrown out the window. 

I wandered near an isle with various paints, wondering if I could perhaps make the demon something of my own to give him once we got back to his estate. 

It was only the right thing to do. A simple repayment. It wasn't like I wanted to see him smile from something I gave him. 

No, not at all, I thought as my cheeks dusted a rosy color. 

I suddenly looked up, realizing I hadn't seen Sir Pentious in a little while. Thankfully, I spotted him on the other side of the shop, talking to the cashier as he paid for his screws. 

I breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been pretty bad if I had lost sight of him. Who knows what could have happened-

A clawed hand covered my mouth, muffling my gasp as another hand grabbed me around the waist, lifting me up, feet dangling from the ground. 

Someone's hot breath was against my neck, claws digging into my skin to the point of pain. 

"Not another sound or we'll have some trouble, sweetheart," rasped the voice behind me, his mouth far too close to my face for comfort. 

I stayed still for a second, trying to weigh my options while dread washed over me. 

Then I bit the demon's hand and proceeded to kick him in the shin. 

"Bitch," he furiously hissed in my ear as his hand made contact with my face, making me see stars. 

The rest was a blur as he bolted for the door. I inhaled the sharp stench of cigarettes and sweat as he threw me into the back of his car, my head slamming against something hard. 

My motions felt slow and groggy as I tried to quickly reached to open the car door and escape, but he had already situated himself in the driver's seat and locked all of the doors to the car. 

The engine started up, and we were already speeding down the road. 

Logic all but flying out of my head, I chose the only other viable option in this scenario. 

I started banging my body against the car door, frantically pulling on the handle until I thought it might break. 

"Stop that, won't ya?! This car ain't as cheap as it looks, angel cakes," the demon said with an exasperated sigh, face contorted in a grimace. 

"What do you want from me?" I asked, trying to put up a brave front as my voice wavered. 

The demon looked back at me, letting me get a good look at him for the first time. 

His skin was gray with tufts of darker hair jutting out this way and that from beneath his hat. His right eye was rather normal, but his left was pitch black, the pupil comprised of a red heart. 

Something told me that this didn't signal that compassion would come from him in any way, despite the heart. 

"Never heard of a kidnapping? I'm sure someone's willing to pay up for a doll like you, right? You're my ticket to getting the wife something nice for her birthday," he stated, as if this was a normal thing for him. 

"Maybe then she'll get off my back, the whore," he mumbled under his breath, turning back around to look at the road. 

Oh God, oh God. 

Yet I doubted God could hear me in a place like this. 

My head pounded from where I had hit it, and the side of my face that he had punched stung every time I touched it. I couldn't think clearly, fear taking hold of me and not letting go. 

I sat in the passenger seat, trying to calm myself. 

Sir Pentious wasn't here to save me. If I wanted to survive, I was going to have to come to my senses and take action. If I stayed idle, who knows what demon I would be sold to, what monstrous things would happen to me. 

Oh, this was a stupid, reckless idea. It was probably going to get me killed. I thought back on how I had even arrived in Hell to begin with. 

Ah yes, it was due to a stupid, reckless idea that almost got me killed. 

Funny, how history repeats itself. 

Suddenly, I pounced at the demon driving, hand making contact with his face as I scrambled into the driver's seat with him. 

The car jerked violently, swerving incredible fast as I latched onto the door handle for something to hold on to, staring the shocked demon straight in the eyes. 

"Crazy motherfu-"

His words were cut short as the side of the car crashed into a lamppost, thankfully only making contact with the passenger side. 

I unlocked the car door and tumbled out before the airbags could even trigger, falling on my stomach with a grunt, broken glass drawing blood from my arms. 

I jumped to my feet before the pain could register, thankful that the airbags had immobilized the demon enough to where I had a head start to jump into a throng of demons walking along the streets. 

As I blended myself in with the crowd, the yelling of the demon who had abducted me spurred me on. 

"I'll find you again, bitch. No one does Travis dirty like this."

I continued sprinting, ducking through the crowd, my only thought was to keep moving. My whole body hurt. I only hoped it was nothing serious. 

I had to find Sir Pentious. We couldn't have driven too far away. Then again, the demon I supposed was named Travis had been driving pretty fast. Was I even going the right way? I had no idea where I was, all the buildings looked similar, neon lights making me disoriented and naseous. Was Sir Pentious looking for me? How would he know where-

A hand latched onto my shoulder. 

Ah, this felt familiar. 

"Oh, aren't you a new face, my dear," came a cheery voice from behind me. It sounded strange though, almost like static. 

I tried to weasel my way out of his grasp, but he only put more pressure on my shoulder, making it ache. 

I turned my head to look at him, having to tilt my chin up to view his face. 

I was greeted with a smile, but it made me feel anything but welcomed. 

I wondered if I was better off with Travis.


	10. Into the Fire

The demon was tall, primly dressed in a red suit to match his hair, two tufts protruding out like ears. His wide smile didn't quite reach his blood-colored eyes as they gazed down at me with mild interest. 

"Sorry, I'm a bit busy at the moment, sir. Maybe we can talk later," I said, trying to keep my voice steady and casual despite my rising anxiety. 

"Ah, yes, I'd just hate to interrupt you, dear, but don't you think a proper introduction is in order? Call me old-fashioned, but I do enjoy knowing who's in the neighborhood," he replied enthusiastically, bending low to twist me around to face him, taking one of my hands in his own to shake, his grip a bit too tight for comfort. 

"Alastor, and what a pleasure to meet you," he stated, flashing his sharp teeth.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Y/N," I replied stiffly, warily. 

Something told me not to trust this demon. Something told me he knew far more than he let on. 

His eyes scanned my whole body before they settled back on my face, eyebrows raising slightly as he seemed to finally realize something. 

"Oh, what a pleasant surprise! I heard a little birdie talking about you just the other day... Humans are rather rare down here, if you haven't realized yet," he said with a laugh, one clawed hand reaching for my wrist as he turned my own hand palm-up.

Suddenly, my palm began to slightly tingle, becoming hot and prickly. To my shock, a symbol appeared in deep red on the skin there. I recognized it almost immediately. 

It was the last symbol I had drawn when I had completed the ritual a week ago. 

It was what bound me to Sir Pentious. 

"W-what did you do?" I asked, fear laced into my words. 

"Oh, I did nothing, darling. Apparently, you're the one who meddled in things you weren't supposed to, isn't that right?" he gently chided in an airy, dismissive tone, smile widening ever so slightly. 

"I-"

"You sold your soul to a demon. An oral agreement, if I'm not mistaken. Ah, but everyone knows written ones are stronger. Think of this symbol as the fine print of your... arrangement with Sir Pentious. And just like fine print, it's usually out of sight," he continued with a small chuckle, hovering his hand over my palm to conceal it, then revealing it once more. 

Only this time, the symbol had disappeared again. 

"How do you know it was Sir Pentious?" I asked, mind still buzzing from the information he was laying on me, inspecting my hand for anything else out of the ordinary. 

"Oh, word does travel fast, and I make it my obligation to know everything thats happening as soon as possible," he replied dismissively, placing a hand on my shoulder as he loomed closer to me, his other hand resting against his cane. 

I tried to back away, but he held me firmly, leaning in as if to tell a secret.

"I wouldn't be worrying about that now, though. Sir Pentious isn't with you at the moment, now is he? So, why exactly have you strayed so far from home, little lamb? Don't you realize how dangerous it is out here for you?" he asked, obviously feigning concern. 

His smile twisted into a malicious grin as he grabbed my chin and tilted my head up, making me stare straight into his unflinchingly cold eyes, the faint sound of static filling my ears, making them buzz. 

The atmosphere crackled with dangerous tension, and I realized that the crowd walking on the sidewalk was actually parting between us, demons cautious not to get in Alastor's way. 

"It would just be a shame if some big bad wolf came along and simply ate you up." 

My heart thudded wildly against my chest, eyes growing wide at his comment. 

"How do you know I'm not a wolf myself, just in sheep's clothing?" I asked, staring back at him, voice sounding much smaller than I would have liked. 

Alastor's eyebrows rose, eyeing me with a somewhat surprised expression.

I gulped, wondering if my foolish comeback just bought me a ticket five feet under. 

Then he started to laugh wildly, shoulders shaking slightly as he released my chin from his hand but quickly placed it firmly on my shoulder, a silent signal warning me not to run. 

"Hmm," he began, as his fit of laughter finally died down, "perhaps you're more entertaining than I had thought you'd be, my dear. Definitely more refreshing than the usual cowering imbeciles I usually have to deal with."

"Come along, I think it would be best to continue our little conversation somewhere a bit more... private," he suddenly stated, looping his arm with mine, pulling me close to him before I could bolt. 

"I'm actually on my way to Sir Pentious right now, so I don't think that this-"

"Ah, ah, ah," Alastor interrupted, wagging a finger at me as if I was a child. 

"Now, it'll do you no good to lie to me, darling. I saw you jump out of that vehicle. You've either ran away from Pentious or have gotten lost. Both options end in you walking aimlessly about until someone worse than the demon in that car comes to get you," Alastor stated lazily, as if bored with my excuse. 

I briefly wondered if the scenario he had just stated had already occurred. 

He started to briskly walk, my legs struggling to keep up with his long strides. 

I supposed this was better than going off on my own, but it seemed that my opinion on the matter really didn't equate to much. At least the demon wasn't posing any harm to me. 

Well, at least at the moment he wasn't. 

"I wasn't trying to lie, Mr. Alastor. Even if I don't know where he is, I'm still on my way to him. I'll reach him, eventually," I gently stated, adding under my breath, "I have to reach him..."

Alastor glanced down at me as we continued to walk, a slightly confused expression on his ever-smiling face. 

"You speak rather fondly of your captor," he stated as we turned a corner, headed who knows where. 

"Wouldn't you rather be free of him?" 

"Yes... but that's not going to happen. I'm stuck here, and my best option is to stay with him. Sir Pentious isn't all that bad... I know he wouldn't hurt me," I replied, surprised at how natural it felt to say such things about the demon who owned my soul. 

"Are you so sure?" he asked vaguely, his tone making it clear that it was a rhetorical question. 

Alastor stopped us in front of a bar, one of the less flashy and vulgar looking ones on the street. Jazz music emanated from the small establishment, surprisingly soothing compared to the overall chaotic atmosphere of Hell. 

Alastor held the door open for me, ushering me inside in his formal, yet creepily threatening, way. 

He pressed his cane against my back, the sharp metal biting into my skin as he pushed me towards the rear of the bar into a secluded booth, the plush seats a warm welcome to my aching body. 

"Now, what if I told you that there was a way for you to break the deal. To return back to your normal life?" he asked as we were finally situated in our seats, the demon sitting right in front of me, my back to the wall. 

My eyes widened. The prospect of seeing my family again was shocking. 

"Wait, would my family still have the money they needed? The money I traded for my soul?"

"Why, of course darling! You wouldn't lose a thing. It's quite a simple procedure, actually," he said mildly, voice indifferent but eyes dancing with a sort of playful impishness. 

I had a feeling this was all just some game for the demon in front of me. He liked toying with me, eliciting reactions and confusion. Much like how you play with your food before you eat it. 

I shivered at the thought. 

"What would I have to do?" I questioned, realizing he was waiting for me to ask. 

A pang of guilt coursed through me suddenly, and I wondered just what Sir Pentious would think of this. A chill went down my spine. He definitely wouldn't like what I was conversing about. Even so, my curiosity was peaked, and despite the snake's kindness he had expressed these last few days, my loyalties were still with my family. 

So why did I feel so torn about this?

"Well," started Alastor, seeming to enjoy drawing out his answer.

"You would have to kill Sir Pentious."

A beat of silence followed his statement. Then another. 

"Simple, as I said before. Once he's disposed of, you'll be able to return with your family's fortune still in hand," he reiterated curtly, smile growing ever wider at the unease apparent on my face. 

"I can't kill Sir Pentious. I won't," I stated, the only thing I could admit with firm determination in the entirety of this increasingly troubling day. 

"Oh, don't go and tell me it's because of some frivolous thing like morals as to why you won't kill him. Truly, the only thing a conscious has ever contributed to anyone is the inevitability of holding them back," Alastor said with a roll of his eyes, smile faltering ever so slightly. 

A waitress suddenly walked up to us, her lovely flapper dress glittering fashionably from the dim lights in the room, feathers adorning her head slightly bobbing as she stopped in front of us. 

"And what could I get ya both," she asked politely. 

"Nothing right now, Mimzy dear," Alastor replied in a dismissive tone, giving her a glance that showed that he'd rather not be disturbed. 

She flashed a smile at me before wandering off, seeming to quickly get the hint. 

Shame, I could definitely go for some water right now. My throat was feeling rather dry.

"Whether you think it's silly or not, I would never kill him," I continued, averting my eyes from his as I stared at the white tablecloth, "He hasn't actually done anything cruel to me. He's even been... kind."

"Truly, are you that naive, lamb? Down here, kindness is just a tactic used to gain something you want. Just a ruse to further yourself," Alastor scoffed, his eyes narrowing, clawed finger tapping on the tabletop impatiently. 

"Well, you've been awfully kind to me, telling me all of this information. What exactly are you trying to gain from me, Mr. Alastor?" I asked cooly, voice soft, yet firm. 

There was that subtle, surprised expression dancing across his face again, toothy smile widening as he tilted his head slightly, as if trying to figure me out. 

"And here I thought you were going to be some drab little human girl who would last less than two weeks here. You have a quiet sort of defiance to you, hidden at first but powerful once it comes to light. I have to admit that your wit is charming, but I feel as if you push your luck a tad bit too often, dearest," he stated as he stood up from his seat, straightening out his suit with an air of haughtiness that only someone with an ego as big as his could achieve. 

"When you've lived as long as me, you learn to keep your motives under wraps. It decidedly gives you the upper hand," the demon said with an ominous chuckle as he reached for his cane. 

"Yes, you've definitely peaked my interest, Y/N. I'll have to keep an eye on you. Oh, and I almost left without handing you your gift! Consider it a reward for humoring an old sinner like me for so long."

Out of the inside of his coat pocket, he drew out a small, silver dagger no longer than the length of my hand, hilt included. 

I instinctively drew back as he placed it in front of me, the gleam of the polished metal looking almost otherworldly in the fading light. 

"These are far and few between, Y/N. A weapon made out of an angel's spear, the only thing able to truly destroy a demon." 

"I told you... I'm not killing Sir Pentious."

"You can do whatever you please with the dagger," he replied airily, cheerily. 

"Why would you give me this? What could you even gain-" I was interrupted by the demon as he began to suddenly walk away. 

"Ah, I'd love to chat longer, darling, but I'm a very busy demon. I'm sure I'll see you around soon," he stated with a laugh, seeming to dissolve into the shadows of a back room right before adding one last thing. 

"Besides, it seems as if you have company coming shortly."

I wondered what he meant, but my thoughts became preoccupied with the dagger in front of me as my gaze landed on it. 

I wasn't going to use it on Sir Pentious, but it didn't seem like a bad thing to have, given the fact I had just been abducted by a demon earlier. Something like an angel dagger might've been quite helpful in that particular situation. 

After debating it, I decided to wrap the small weapon in a hanker-chief I carried with me and tuck it flat on the inside sole of my shoe, thankful that the dagger was slim enough to not cause any discomfort when I slipped the item back on.

That increasingly nagging feeling of guilt tugged at me again, but it wasn't as if I was planning on hurting anyone. This was only for my protection, a measure I took to keep myself safe. 

A measure that Sir Pentious didn't necessarily need to know about. 

Suddenly, the front door to the bar slammed open, streaming the establishment with pale sunlight as a tall figure barged in. 

I jumped up in my seat, hands flat against the table as I leaned forward to see who it was. 

I could see how the frantic, crimson colored eyes that locked onto my own suddenly washed over with relief, Sir Pentious's whole body seeming to slacken up when he spotted me. 

My heart leapt in my chest, thankful for his familiar face. 

Ah, so this it what Alastor meant when he said I had company. 

What a relief.


	11. Actions Speak Louder

Once I was spotted, Sir Pentious's arms were wrapped around me before I could even blink. I might have survived an abduction, a car crash, and a conversation with a creepy demon, but I wasn't quite sure if I'd live through the suffocatingly tight hug Pentious was giving me.

"Uh, sir, I understand that you're a snake demon, but this might be just a bit too constrictive," I said with a small laugh, happy to be safe and relieved to see him.

He loosened his grip ever so slightly, turning his face towards me with a guilty smile.

"My apologies," he muttered before he held me at arm's length, inspecting my aching body with a critical stare.

"What in the nine circles-s-s of Hell happened to you? You look like you were run over by a car," he stated in a brash tone, worry etched into his features as he held one of my arms and lightly brushed his fingers over the small cuts littering my skin.

I flinched, the pain finally catching up to me in the way that pain often does after the last of an adrenaline rush dies out. Now that I was safe, it seemed as if my body was going to let me know exactly how much exertion I'd been through today.

"I wasn't run over by a car, but I did jump out of one," I said with a small chuckle, grimacing as I realized that it even hurt to laugh.

Sir Pentious's eyes widened, anger and concern flashing across his features as he cupped his hands on each side of my face, absently rubbing small circles on my cheeks with his thumbs.

"When I find out which bastard did this to you, he's going to endure more pain than any of Hell's infernos can provide..." Sir Pentious muttered ominously, eyes flashing with something dangerous.

The snake proceeded to sigh heavily as he peered down at me, looking pretty worn-out. He stared absently, as if struggling to internally compose himself.

"You should s-s-sit down, Y/N. You look dreadfully close to collapsing," he stated firmly, as if finally gathering his bearings.

He ushered me into the booth, sitting right next to me before glancing left and right cautiously, as if worried I'd be snatched away from him again. After what seemed to be a moments consideration on his part, Sir Pentious unceremoniously grabbed me by the waist and placed me down on his lap, as if he couldn't bear not having me as close as possible to him.

"Uh, is this really necessary, sir?" I asked as I squirmed a bit in his grasp, embarrassment staining my cheeks red.

"Yes, it most certainly is," he replied sharply, as if daring me to protest further.

"You can't even comprehend the sorts of things some of these monsters-s-s are capable of doing down here. What they would have done to you if they had the chance... I'm surprised that I even found you in one piece," stated the snake wearily.

"I told you I could handle myself," I replied softly, not knowing what to do with my hands as I sat stiffly on the demon, finally deciding on placing them against his chest to steady myself.

His lips quirked slightly up, an amused expression blossoming onto his otherwise uneasy demeanor.

"Yes, it would seem so. Perhaps-s-s I underestimated you. You certainly have a way of surprising me, dear," he replied softly, touching lightly at my bruised cheek.

"In one moment you were only a few feet away from me, and in the next you had vanished. I was only fortunate enough to s-s-see that car speeding off with you. When I had finally caught up with it, it was left wrecked and empty on the side of the road. I searched a dozen different buildings around the area, and then here I find you, all alone in a booth as-s-s if nothing happened."

"I do believe I need a bit of an explanation as to how you arrived here, if you would," he said expectantly, slitted eyes staring into my own.

"Oh, right," I replied awkwardly, shifting my eyes away from him.

I realized that I couldn't exactly admit the whole truth as to how I had ended up here. Oh, I really did hate lies. They felt like sludge in my mouth and left a foul taste behind, guilt lingering on my lips for much longer than I'd like.

Still, maybe I didn't have to lie at all. Leaving out a few truths wasn't the same as adding a few lies.

Right?

I took a deep breath and gathered my thoughts, bracing myself for what I was going to say and the future consequences that came along with my actions.

"A demon grabbed me from behind, and he threw me into his car. When he started driving, he told me how he was going to sell me. I uh, didn't really want to be sold, so I decided to tackle him while he was driving, and it caused us to crash. I jumped out before-"

"Pardon, but did you just s-s-say that you tackled him?"

"Um, yes, that would be correct."

"While he was driving."

"Yep."

Sir Pentious looked at me as if in disbelief, confusion dancing across his features before being replaced with amusement as he started to laugh.

"Truly, you are the most brash woman I've ever come across. You could have very well killed yourself, causing a crash such as that. You must remember, Y/N, you're not nearly as... durable as the other demons-s-s here," he stated in an almost scolding manner, a lilt of humor tainting his words as he patted my back, causing me to be pushed forward, one side of my face pressed against his chest.

"Well, it's not as if I wanted to wreck the car. I just couldn't think of anything else to do. I was... scared," I replied lamely, voice muffled from talking into his shirt fabric.

A clawed hand combed its way through my hair, the sensation soothing my frazzled nerves.

"Perhaps you weren't being brash, then," the demon answered, voice gentler than before. "Some might even call you brave."

"Thank you, Sir Pentious," I replied, happy that he couldn't see my bashful expression and even happier for his praise.

"I said some might call you brave. I hold myself quite s-s-steadfast in my belief that you are brash. Now, continue on with your explanation, Y/N," he scoffed, tugging me back up so I could see his rather grumpy expression.

Ah, he seemed to have a talent in confusing me.

"Oh, right, of course," I said stiffly, trying to gather together the last shreds of dignity I had.

"Well, I jumped out of the car and blended in with a crowd of people... er, demons. Then," I faltered.

This is where I would have to be careful with my alibi.

"Then I was stopped by another demon. He led me into this bar. We talked for a bit, then he left right before you came in," I stated, hoping he wouldn't ask any more questions.

"Strange. Did you catch this demon's name?"

"His name was... Alastor."

Sir Pentious's eyes went wide, body turning rigid underneath me as his mouth twisted into a concerned frown.

"What exactly did Alastor s-s-say to you, Y/N," the demon asked, voice lowered and steady, obviously trying to conceal his uneasiness.

I gulped, suddenly very aware of the dagger pressed flat against my foot, the metal stiff and cool.

"H-he introduced himself to me and talked a bit about my deal with you. He knew that I sold my soul."

"Bastard. I'd much rather if he knew nothing of you. Alastor is dangerous, Y/N. Stay away from him, and don't believe a thing he s-s-says, understand? He's notorious down here. A tyrant, ready to kill anyone standing in his way, including you. Don't let him manipulate you. He has-s-s a way of getting in your head," Sir Pentious said, brows furrowing.

"Yes, sir," I replied, turning pale, worried that what he warned me of had happened already.

"Now, now, no use for such a distraught face. You've had an eventful day, but all is well now," Sir Pentious stated, seeming to try and comfort himself more than me.

I smiled slightly, wondering just how well my situation could ever be when I was stuck in Hell.

"You seemed really worried for me when you came in. Did you miss me, sir?" I asked softly, gathering my courage and placing my hand lightly over his.

"What did I s-s-say about stupid questions?" Sir Pentious asked gruffly, averting his eyes from mine as he entwined his fingers with my own.

It always seemed as if his actions contradicted his words. When he spoke to me, he was almost always stern, degrading and devoid of emotion. Even so, in the same moment that he'd scold me, he was also tending to my wounds or, in this instance, holding my hand with such care that I felt as if I was porcelain.

Then again, I always had believed that actions speak louder than words.

"Right, sorry sir," I whispered to him, squeezing his hand lightly, "But I missed you, too."

He let go of my hand, lifting me off of him and placing me by his side, still averting his face away from mine. I only caught a quick glance at his expression. He looked almost... pained. Maybe even fearful.

Then the moment passed, his features back to their normal expression, gone so fast that I wondered if I had imagined it.

"We should head back. Your cuts need tending to," Sir Pentious stated, as if nothing had happened, standing up and adjusting his tie.

I stood up on slightly shaky legs, head starting to hurt already. Strangely, I couldn't help but miss my room back at Sir Pentious's estate. I could really use a nap at the moment. I hoped the egg bois weren't too worried about us, since we had been out much longer than a simple errand should permit.

Sir Pentious, noticing my discomfort, suddenly scooped me up in his arms, leading us out of the small bar. I didn't utter any complaint. I was beginning to rather enjoy being carried everywhere, and I was certainly too tired to protest.

The sky outside was a bit darker than when I had first entered the bar, but the bustle of the city seemed to never cease. I stayed quiet as we began to head back to his estate, eyes growing heavy as I rested my head against his chest, enjoying the feeling of the rise and fall of his breathing.

I closed my eyes, deciding that I'd just rest for a few moments. I had realized very quickly that you could never lower your guard here, but I couldn't help but feel safe in Pentious's grasp. Of course, I wasn't stupid enough to actually fall asleep. I wasn't the naive little lamb that Alastor had depicted me as.

I'm far more responsible than that, I thought to myself, my senses beginning to fade as I went limp in the demon's arms.

Unsurprisingly to anyone except myself, I fell fast asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What the hell are you doing with a human, you dumb slithering asshat?"

"Now, Vaggie, lets all just talk this through calmly and rationally. I'm sure we can settle-"

"Oh shit, are you so desperate that you had to make some poor smuck sell their soul to you to get some action, Pentious?"

"I am doing nothing of that s-s-sort, but I wouldn't quite put it past you, Angel."

I opened my eyes hesitantly, mind groggy as I tried to process all the voices speaking at once. I groaned slightly, the light too bright as I adjusted to it, realizing my headache hadn't quite left yet.

I was suddenly greeted with three demons, all of their eyes fixated on me.

I rubbed my face with a hand, a sinking feeling starting to blossom in my stomach.

Something told me I wasn't quite out of the crossfire yet.


	12. Strange Thoughts-s-s

She had fallen asleep in his arms. And right after he had told her to be wary of her surroundings. She was far too trusting, this little human girl that had so abruptly entered his life. He hadn't known her long, obviously, but he couldn't help but feel that she was so crucially important to him. 

It almost frightened him. Almost. 

Sir Pentious stared down at the sleeping woman, taking notice of the rise and fall of her chest and the way her hair framed her face. True, she was rather lovely. He had noticed this right from the start, when they had met in the woods. He quite distinctly remembered how fearful she was of him, the way her lips trembled when she saw him. 

Ahem, not that he was paying any special attention to her lips. 

The demon would have been fine if it was only her physical features that attracted him, though. He had seen several other beautiful women before, and he never grew so... attached to any of them in the way he was with this simple human. She was meek at first. Meek, but always kind. That was what truly allured him, he supposed. In both life and death, Sir Pentious had learned rather quickly that truly kind people were few and far between. 

He had met his fair share of nice people, but there was a clear distinction between nice and kind if you observed both traits for long enough. Nice people were mostly characterized by fake smiles, false politeness, and shallow compliments. They were nice because they had something to gain, or perhaps they just wanted to be viewed in a good light. The world was full of nice people, and in his opinion, they were some of the most annoying creatures he'd ever encountered.  

Kind people, on the other hand, had nothing to gain from being the way they were. Y/N was one such person, he had decided very quickly once he had spoken with the girl. She had all the right to despise him, fear him, hate him. But no, instead it seemed that she had grown to enjoy his company. 

It confused him greatly. 

And then, she had grown bolder, once she warmed to him. Trusted him. Witty remarks and playful teasing littered their conversations. Very few people had ever pushed him to a loss for words. He had considered himself a rather well put together demon before meeting her, but now he often felt like he was a bit foolish, letting this human influence him so much. She was far too considerate, too giving, and too merciful. 

She had even gone so far as to call him kind. Him. Sir Pentious was awfully surprised when she had uttered those words, her voice honey-like and sickeningly sweet. He was so very far from kind that her comment would have made him laugh if he wasn't so shocked. She truly was too innocent. How could she see any goodness in him? After what he had done?

Perhaps that's why he was so entranced with her. No one else in his entire existence had seen any good in him before. No one had bothered to search. 

Not even himself. 

Y/N shifted a bit in his arms, making a small noise in her sleep as he continued on his way back to his estate. 

She was quite the restless sleeper, but, then again, that was sort of his fault. He was the one who had brought her here, caused her this stress and pain. He shook his head slightly at an uneasy feeling brewing in his chest due to the thought. 

It took a moment to pinpoint the emotion, but he realized that he felt guilty. Hmm, it wasn't very common for him to ever have remorse for his actions. Then again, Y/N had a way of eliciting several strange responses from him. 

He couldn't decide whether he hated it or loved it. 

He hadn't felt dread in quite some time as well. But oh, had he felt it today. He would never admit it to her or any other soul, but he was still a bit shaken from how he had lost her, if only for a short amount of time. He had been so worried when she had been taken, thinking of all of the horrible things she might be enduring. 

It made him realize just how numb he was before all of this. Devoid of any real emotion. 

He hadn't ever cared so much for a person. Not in all of his life. He had met other attractive people before, flirted and played around with them. But it was always a facade, any emotions he and his partners shared were always understood to be merely artificial. Just some game to make two wretched souls a bit less lonely in this cruel world. All of his previous relationships amounted to nothing but the tangle of sheets, the taste of alcohol on lips, and the whisper of flattering lies to one another in the dark. 

Even so, none of it had been as intimate as the relationship forming between Y/N and himself. It was almost ironic. She touched him in ways far deeper than any other person had done. She touched at his emotions, tying his stomach in knots and pulling at his heartstrings. 

Ah, here he was contradicting himself. He didn't have a heart. He was sure of it. 

Well, at least he was before she came along. 

No, he was fairly certain he had no heart. If he did, he probably would have been generous enough to release her from the contract. He could do it, if he wanted. Allow her to go to her family and let them keep the money. That's what she truly wanted. But no, he was a demon, after all. He was too cruel to do such a thing. Too vile and wicked to free such an innocent creature from his grasp. 

He wasn't kind enough. 

It certainly wasn't because he would miss her too much. 

If he was honest with himself, which was rare, he was scared of becoming too attached to the woman. She wouldn't last long here, that he was sure of. She was too fragile, too easy to taint, sully, ruin. He wasn't any good for her, despite his efforts to comfort her. Her purity was refreshing in the eyes of a demon who had committed so many sins. He realized he wanted to preserve her, protect her like a flower trapped inside of a glass dome. 

He tried to ignore the fact that while she might be protected, she'd also become suffocated. 

Sir Pentious rounded a corner, thankfully close to home. He could go back to his study and shut himself in with his work. Busy himself so that he wouldn't have to think about all of these stupid thoughts. 

He didn't care about Y/N that much. There was no way. She was simply a servant to him, someone he could use just like everyone else. 

Hmm, he wished he could believe himself when he thought this. 

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that he was passing by a new building in town, labeled The Happy Hotel in large, neon red letters. He didn't notice the spider demon who caught sight of him or how he called for two others to come outside. 

It was only whenever the demon spoke up that he was snapped out of his reverie, a bit surprised to be confronted by his rival, Angel Dust. 

"I'm either going batshit crazy, or you're holding a human in your arms. I haven't had any drugs today yet, so I'm gonna opt for the second option," Angel stated, both sets of his arms crossed in a flippant manner.

Two women stood next to Angel, one of which he recognized, and one of which he did not. 

Unfortunately, the one he recognized was the daughter of Satan, and this only spelled out bad news for him. 

Sir Pentious was in deep shit.


	13. Just A Game

My blurry vision took a second to process the three figures in front of me as I involuntarily yawned, lifting my arms to wipe the sleep from my eyes. Blinking a few times, I was able to take in the features of each demon currently staring at me. 

The blonde one with snow white skin and a cute button nose spoke up first, her voice surprisingly kind despite the fact that she was, well, a demon. 

"Hi, there, hmm, little human person," she started awkwardly, as if she'd never conversed with a human before.

I could feel Sir Pentious press me tighter against him, his clawed fingers slightly digging into my skin unconsciously. I looked up to glance at the serpent's face. He seemed worried, his brow knit in concern and mouth twisted into a forced smile. 

Who were these people?

"Oh, hello... Nice to meet you," I answered, equally as awkward, not exactly sure as to what was going on. 

"You must be really confused right now, but there's no need to worry. I'm Charlie, and this is Vaggie and Angel Dust," she continued, gesturing at the gray, angry looking demon and then at the tall, scantily dressed one. 

"I'm Y/N," I said simply, a bit embarrassed that I was having a full-blown conversation while in the arms of Sir Pentious. Glancing up at his stressed expression, I knew that asking him to let me down would be futile though. 

"Well, isn't that s-s-superb? Now that we have introductions out of the way, I do believe that Y/N and I have important business-s-s to attend to, so we will be taking our leave-" interjected Sir Pentious, a frantic sort of undertone in his voice. 

"Not so fast, pendejo. Don't think you can weasel your way out of this one so quickly. You know the rules about humans. I'm not sure how you got your slimy hands on one, but you have explaining to do before we let your sorry ass off the hook," sneered Vaggie, her face plastered with a scowl as she glared daggers at the snake.

I gulped. 

"Rules?" I asked quietly, voice only slightly above a whisper.

"Wait, he didn't even tell you about that? Damn Pentious, I always took you for a giant prick, but I didn't know you were a total one," piped up the one named Angel Dust, his nasally voice laced with humor, gold tooth flashing when he smiled.

"Listen, lets take this inside so we can talk it over. Y/N seems like a reasonable human, so I'm sure we can settle this. Right, Sir Pentious?" Charlie asked nervously, eyes darting up at the snake in a way that hinted he didn't have much of a choice.  

Pentious cleared his throat, not even attempting to hide his frown at this point. I wondered why he was so uncomfortable around this demon girl. It seemed to me as if she couldn't do too much if we resisted. Then again, she might make her other friends attack us, which probably wouldn't end so well. The short one looked feral. 

Even so, I didn't believe that's all that Sir Pentious was worried about. Something wasn't quite right. 

"Of course, whatever you s-s-say, your highness" the serpent replied bitterly, words deadpan and expressionless. 

Wait, your highness?

I tensed, brain processing the new information and new undertone of danger now apparent in my situation. Hm, this certainly explained a few things. Any royalty of Hell must not be too pleasant to meddle with, I quickly decided. 

I would have to be cautious. 

Vaggie opened the door to the hotel for us, allowing Charlie and Angel Dust to walk in first before silently mouthing death threats in Spanish to Sir Pentious as he and I filed into the spacious lobby. I had retained enough knowledge of the language from Spanish I in high school to understand that she was thoroughly pissed. 

"Welcome to the Happy Hotel," Angel Dust stated in a less-than welcoming manner as Charlie ushered us into a room nearby, gesturing for Pentious and me to sit on a couch while the others either sat on chairs or stood. 

"Ah, if you don't mind, sir, but could you please let me go? I, uh, think I can sit on my own now," I whispered to him as we got settled, cheeks tinted pink. 

"Oh, of course. Ahem, how s-s-silly of me," he whispered back, quickly placing me down on the couch next to him as if embarrassed that he didn't think of letting me go himself. He then leaned in close, breath tickling my ear as he placed his hand over mine for only an instant. 

"Stay near, though, Y/N. You're not out of danger quite yet," he whispered softly, to the point that I almost didn't hear. 

Then he drew away from me so quickly that I wondered if I had imagined it. He reached out once more and squeezed my hand lightly, resting his palm over my own. 

No, I hadn't imagined it. Yes, I was in danger.

"So, Pentious? If you would like to explain, that would be really helpful," Charlie said, fidgeting restlessly in her seat, obviously trying to hide her interest as she not-so subtly scooted her chair closer to us. 

"Um, sorry to interrupt, Miss Charlie, but I'm the one responsible for this, I believe," I stated meekly, trying my best to speak firmly. 

"I sold my soul to Sir Pentious. It was all my idea, so it's my fault that I'm here in Hell. I wasn't under the impression that it was against the rules, but I probably should have looked into it more," I paused, wringing my hands together nervously, "If there are any consequences for my presence in Hell, then I just want to make it clear that only I should pay for them. Not Sir Pentious," I stated boldly, not a hint of hesitation in my voice. 

I held my breath, staring down at the crimson colored carpet at my feet. I wasn't the type to let others take the blame, and I wasn't going to start now. This was the right thing to do. At least, that's what I told myself. No use in getting cold feet now. 

No one spoke for a heartbeat, causing my own to rise drastically. 

"Ha! Sorry to break it to you, doll face," Angel Dust laughed, clearly finding my troubling situation amusing, "but you're in the clear. My old pal Satan doesn't have any restrictions on soul trades. Nah, we're ask'in why you came down here as a human instead of as a demon. It was up to your buddy Pentious here to make sure that didn't happen."

I lifted my gaze from the floor to finally look at Sir Pentious. His face was surprisingly blank, an unreadable expression flickering across his eyes, as if deep in thought. 

"What exactly does that mean," I stated more than asked, dread creeping under my skin, making me cold, numb. I was scared, scared because I had already realized the answer to my question. 

"He was supposed to kill you," Vaggie answered harshly, standing up threateningly from her position leaned against the wall.

I pressed my back against the couch, as if the small amount of space gained between the three demons and me would ever help. Sir Pentious's hand lightly placed over my own shifted suddenly, clawed fingers wrapping around my wrist tightly. The gesture no longer comforted me. 

It trapped me.

"Sir?" I asked quietly, voice shaking as it became alarmingly harder and harder to breathe. 

I didn't want to die. I didn't want to become a demon, and I didn't want to die. 

"Yes, I'm fully aware of the procedure I was supposed to have... carried out," Sir Pentious murmured, staring straight ahead, expression still guarded and calculating. 

"I wouldn't bring this up if it wasn't important, Pentious, but if my dad- ah, I mean Satan- finds out, then it will only turn out worse for both of you," Charlie stated uncomfortably, her kind features tainted with a guilty expression, "Humans are strictly outlawed in Hell. They just don't belong. We have to keep some sort of order here. When a trade takes place between human and demon, if the human is brought to Hell, he or she has to be... disposed of so that they can convert into their demon form."

"Wait, I... I wasn't. Wasn't really aware-" I stuttered, not even able to form a complete thought, only focused on trying to still my shaking body. 

I looked at Sir Pentious's face once more for some kind of clarity. Comfort, even. He wouldn't kill me. He promised not to hurt me. I waited with bated breath to hear him say that he would never. Why... why wasn't he speaking up?

A small chuckle escaped the snake's lips, followed by a long sigh.

"Ah, well, I suppose my little game was fun while it lasted, dear," Pentious said with an airy tone, finally peering down at me. 

His eyes were cold and distant, but his mouth was twisted into a sadistic smile, fangs flashing dangerously and voice tinged with something poisonous. 

"What are you talking about?" I whispered, voice cracking. 

"Oh, come now. Were you actually that naive? S-s-several times I was almost certain you would see right through me. The way you looked at me, as if I was Prince Charming and you some frilly, air-brained damsel. It was quite amusing, but I'm s-s-surprised you didn't see this coming. You must admit, I did warn you. There is no mercy here," he hissed, punctuating his last sentence with a harsh squeeze to my wrist, nails threatening to break skin. 

"I'll be taking Y/N back to my estate, and then I will... rectify the problem there. S-s-so sorry for the trouble, princess, but it will be dealt with. Perhaps I had let this carry on for longer than I should have," Sir Pentious stated with a laugh, addressing Charlie before standing up, tugging me up by the wrist harshly. 

"W-wait. Sir, I don't understand. This was a lie the whole time? What could you have possibly gained from it? The kindness you showed me was real. I know it was," I told him frantically, wishing, begging for it to be true. 

Sir Pentious grabbed the back of my head, fingers entwined in my hair as he yanked slightly, making me stare straight into his unflinching eyes.

He seemed to be searching for something in my own eyes, but I couldn't even begin to imagine what. 

"What to gain? Are you s-s-so stupid as to forget what I am? I am a demon, Y/N. I was never kind, and I certainly will never be kind to some twit like yourself. I tricked you because I found it amusing to see just how trusting you could become of me. It was pathetically easy, by the way. But, now it comes to an end. Truly, this was a good thing. You were becoming quite boring anyway," the serpent sneered, his grip in my hair so tight that it stung. 

"Now, I'd rather not make a scene, if you wouldn't mind. My apologies for the intrusion, Charlie, but we'll be leaving," he stated, already headed for the door, dragging me along by my now-aching wrist. 

Charlie looked conflicted, confusion and hesitation riddling her face as she drew her arms around herself, mouth slightly open as if about to intervene. Vaggie's lips were pressed into a fine line as she leaned against the wall, eyebrow knit with concern. I think that Angel Dust had left sometime during the conversation to buy drugs, but I wasn't quite sure about that part. 

None of these demons were going to help me. I felt like I was backed up into a corner, unable to do anything as my life was suddenly altered forever once more. I felt scared, my heart beating dangerously fast as I was tugged closer to the exit. I felt betrayed. 

I thought I could trust him, this demon who had so intensely impacted my life. I had cared for him. But after everything, I was what I had always feared I would be: a pawn. Tears rolled down my face, not even realizing it until I saw them splatter onto the cold floor. 

Contemplating my emotions for the few seconds it took to get to the front door, I realized two very crucial things about my situation. The first was that I still had one hand free, and the second was that, along with being scared and sad, I also felt incredibly pissed off with the damn snake. 

I suddenly tried frantically to weasel my hand out of the serpent's grip, tugging with all my strength while using my other hand to slap and claw at his fingers. He tightened his hold even further, and I could feel as his claws finally sank into flesh, eliciting a sob from my lips. 

"Y/N, listen to me, you must s-s-stay still-" Sir Pentious whispered frantically at me before being cut off by my own cracked voice. 

"You're hurting me," I cried out desperately, pain and anger clouding all reason. My outburst seemed to surprise him, causing his grip to loosen for a moment.

A moment was all I needed. 

I ripped my hand free of him, and I could see his eyes widen slightly as he noticed the small trickle of blood running down my forearm due to his actions. 

"Y/N, listen," was the only thing I heard the snake say before I began dashing down the hall in the opposite direction, adrenaline and pain fueling me on. 

I didn't look back as I ran from Sir Pentious. Well, I tried not to look back. It was only a quick glance that I permitted myself to take. I only saw the expression on the serpent's face for an instant. Truly, it was almost too quick to even register it. 

As I raced around a corner into what looked to be a bar, I couldn't help but mull over it though. 

I suppose that it wouldn't leave my head because it almost seemed as if he looked guilty.


	14. I Make A Deal (Again)

Well, I decided that I had hit an all-time low as I bawled my eyes out behind the counter of a bar in a hotel that was anything but happy while hiding from a snake demon who wanted to kill me. 

Hm, that was an absurdly large mouthful. 

I curled myself up against the back of a tarnished liquor cabinet, knees pressed against my chest and arms wrapped around them. I hadn't even caught my breath before I heard the sound of someone entering the room. Small movements sounded piercingly loud in the stagnant silence, causing the sound of my frantic breathing to thrum in my ears like thunder. 

I didn't need to peek behind the counter to deduce that it was Sir Pentious who was drawing near to me, sounding closer and closer with every passing second. I realized rather quickly that there was no escaping him now. His discovery of me behind the booth was as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning or setting in the evening. 

It was as inevitable as death. 

Through my panic, I suddenly realized that I had a weapon with me after all. How funny, only earlier today had I pledged to never use the strange dagger given to me against the serpent. Even now, I hesitated, hand reaching slowly, shakily, towards my feet to retrieve the weapon before he found me. 

Something interrupted my actions.  

"Foolish girl," came a voice from above me, piercing the heavy silence and startling me beyond belief. 

I knew that voice. 

I tilted my head up only to be greeted with Sir Pentious's intense gaze. He loomed over me, two fingers rubbing at his temple in annoyance, peering down as I pressed my body further against the counter, the chill wood biting into my back. 

"For a moment, I had thought you might have escaped me," the serpent continued, moving suddenly as he leaned down and sat in front of me, reaching out to cup my cheek. 

I flinched, frayed nerves causing me to be on edge as I tried to focus on controlling my rising anxiety. Sir Pentious noticed, frowning at my reaction to his touch, his brow creasing with concern.

"Y/N, earlier, you must understand-"

"I understand, sir," I interrupted him curtly, my voice shakier than I expected it to be, "You've made it perfectly clear. I know I was foolish for trusting you. Stupid for ever thinking that you might actually care."

I rubbed absently at the shallow cuts on my wrist inflicted by the snake. They stung almost as much as my red-rimmed, watery eyes. I didn't want to look at Sir Pentious right now. I didn't want to talk to him. I wanted my family, my friends I had left behind. It suddenly hit me that I missed them desperately. What was the last thing I had told my mom before I left for the woods that fateful night? I couldn't quite remember. What would she think if she saw me now?

Perhaps I didn't want to know. 

Sir Pentious's fingers rubbed my cheek gently, reaching out with his other hand to lightly take hold of my wrist, inspecting the cuts and beginnings of a bruise. 

"I'm s-s-sorry, Y/N."

"What?" I asked abruptly, voice slightly raised, riddled with confusion and caution. 

"It was never my intention to inflict any injury to you. I, well, I believed it was the only solution to this... rather tricky s-s-situation that we are currently in. I thought it would be clear to you that I was bluffing, hence the reason I called you foolish. If you hadn't ran from me, we would be safely on our way home," Sir Pentious stated, his last comment followed by an exasperated sigh.

I pulled my arm away from him slightly, scanning his face for any signs of deceit. 

"How was I supposed to know that, Sir Pentious?" I asked quietly, voice shaking and weak. "How am I supposed to know anything you're thinking about? In the entire time I've been in Hell, I still know little to nothing about you. I don't really know how you feel, or what I am to you, or even what you are. I... I don't even know if you're lying to me again right now."

I looked away from him, instead opting to bury my head between my folded legs, chin resting on my knees as I tried to stifle my tears. 

Clawed fingers began to lightly scratch the top of my head, surprisingly gentle. I could hear a soft hum escape Sir Pentious's lips as his hand wandered down to my cheek, curling beneath my chin to lift my head up. 

"I'm aware that I'm not the most... trustworthy individual you could meet, and I know that I've left you in the dark for a number of matters," he admitted softly to me, reaching for my hands to take in his own, holding them in an almost pleading manner within his cold grasp. 

"But Y/N, you must trust me now if you want us to leave here intact. While Charlie isn't the most threatening, we mos-s-st definitely do not want to entangle ourselves with her father. I promise that I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe, but we must work together..."

"Will you pinky promise?"

There was a pause for a beat as I watched the snake demon's face contort into a surprised expression. He blinked. I blinked back. 

"Will I what now?"

"Pinky promise me that you will be more honest from now on, and I'll trust you," I explained meekly as I held my pinky out to him, face starting to burn from embarrassment. 

"You sold your soul to me, yet you still want to perform this mundane agreement?" Sir Pentious said with an amused chuckle, obviously trying to hide a smirk. 

"First of all, it's not an agreement, it's a promise. And second of all, it's not mundane... This is important to me," I replied softly, voice faltering in its confidence.

"Ah, very well, I'll participate in your frivolous antics," Sir Pentious lightly scoffed, linking his clawed little finger with my own, "For all of the hoops I jump through to please you, I might   
as-s-s well renounce my claim as Hell's next ruler and simply join the circus as a bloody show pony," he added with a huff. 

I gave the serpent a soft smile, which he returned with a small frown, but I could tell by the quirk of his lips that he was forcing it. 

"Will you say that you pinky promise?" I prompted, choosing to ignore his last statement. 

"Childish..." he muttered before exhaling a long breath, "Yes, Y/N, I pinky promise to be more honest with you from now on."

"Now, I'm not quite sure if I'll continue to make promises with you if the end result is that smirk you're giving me right now, dearest," he added indignantly, gesturing towards my grinning face. 

"Sorry, sorry," I quickly answered as I tried to control my smile, deciding that I had pushed my luck far enough for the day to prompt any more anger from him. 

"Now that we have that s-s-settled, we really should take our leave rather soon, wouldn't you agree?" Sir Pentious asked as he took my hand to guide me up on my feet, my tired legs slightly swaying as I gathered my bearings. 

"Right, that would be best," I replied, smiling ruefully as I stood and brushed my ruffled shirt down. 

I realized that I missed Sir Pentious's estate. I suppose absence does make the heart grow fonder. That, or I had realized by now that his house was far better than the alternative of staying in this damned city. 

"You aren't going anywhere, idiot," came a voice from the other side of the booth, followed by two heads popping up from behind the counter. 

I backed up into Sir Pentious as I was greeted by the scowling face of Vaggie, followed by Charlie's more merciful expression. 

"How... how much did you just hear..?" I asked, trying to stifle the guilt staining my words. 

"Enough. I knew we couldn't trust him, Charlie," Vaggie stated with disdain, throwing daggers with her eyes towards Sir Pentious. 

"Say what you want, but her soul is under my possession, so I will do with her what I please," Sir Pentious practically hissed out, wrapping both arms around me, squeezing me tight against his chest. 

I could feel the rise and fall of his breath against my back, the movements short and rapid. He was trapped, and he knew it. 

We were trapped. 

"Wait... Vaggie. We can't just force him to... you know," Charlie said hesitantly, glancing at me with remorse in her eyes. 

"Please tell me you're not going soft already, Charlie. The hotel is already a shithole of failure, and you want to add this to our problems?" Vaggie said as she gestured towards me with flailing arms. 

"If your father found out that we knew about her and then let her go, he'd shut down everything you worked on for this damned hotel," she added, punctuating her last sentence with a pull of her hair. 

"I understand that, Vaggie, but how could I call myself the owner of a hotel for rehabilitation and second chances when one of my first orders as hotel manager is to... well, is to execute a guest?" Charlie replied, folding her arms against herself in a defensive manner. 

"I have something else in mind for her and Pentious, anyway..." Charlie continued, voice trailing off a bit as she glanced at Sir Pentious and me. 

"Ahem," the serpent cleared his throat in an indignant manner, "Well, I'd hate to impose upon your conversation, but would you mind telling u-s-s-s the exact "something" you have in mind?

"I have a proposition for you both. I think it would be beneficial for everyone here, and this way, no one has to die," Charlie started, giving me a shy smile.

"I won't tell my dad about Y/N living here in Hell with you, Sir Pentious, and I'll do everything in my power to keep her safe. But, in exchange, Y/N will work here with me at the Happy Hotel. I really think she can help reform the demons who come here. I mean, I saw the way she stood up for you when you both first came here. She's probably the only person in all of Hell who's truly qualified to help people redeem themselves," Charlie said as she stared right at me, a strange expression crossing her face. 

Sir Pentious scoffed, obviously not enjoying a second of this. 

"Do you really believe that this pet project of yours will actually work, Charlie? Not one soul in the Nine Circles will ever escape eternal damnation through something as idiotic as redemption, with or without my Y/N," Pentious stopped abruptly after that last statement, seemingly frazzled for a second, "Ahem, I mean, my servant, Y/N."

"Really, Sir Pentious? Because I think that Y/N has already changed you quite a bit," Charlie said softly, cryptically. 

"Well, I don't really give a shit what you think, Pentious, because you don't have a choice anyway, asshole," Vaggie stated, deadpan, before turning towards Charlie and whispering furiously in her ear. 

"Vaggie, trust me. I know what I'm doing," Charlie whispered back, glancing once more at my confused expression and Pentious's scowl, "Well, I think I know what I'm doing."

"So," Charlie stated, raising her voice, "I'll give you two weeks before you have to report for duty, Y/N. Now that you know the terms, is it a deal?" 

Charlie outstretched her hand towards me, a gesture I was all too familiar with. 

I looked up at Sir Pentious, trying to gauge his opinion on the whole matter. He seemed hesitant, mouth drawn into a thin line and brows furrowed. We locked eyes, and he gave me the slightest hint of a nod. 

I reached out and and shook hands with Charlie. 

"It's a deal."


	15. On My Mind, Not Behind

Sir Pentious and I walked through the large door, leaving behind the infamous Happy Hotel. I had to admit, so far, it wasn't quite living up to its name. It seemed to me that Sir Pentious left the hotel in a much more foul mood than when he had entered, and he was far from " _happy_."

Then again, I couldn't quite blame him. Things really hadn't gone our way today, which I was quickly reminded of by the soreness in my legs as I slightly limped beside the serpent. He noticed my discomfort rather quickly. There really wasn't much that escaped him, I thought absently.

Before I knew it, I was being lifted up back into his arms, quickly finding a spot against his chest to rest my head. This was becoming a rather embarrassing habit of his, at least on my part. 

"You don't have to-" I started before abruptly being silenced.

"Shut up, now won't you? If you thought this miserable cesspool of a city was too much to handle in the daytime, jus-s-st you wait until you see what's in store tonight. I'm not losing you again to some _oaf_ in a dingy car," the demon spat, fangs flashing dangerously.

"Yes, sir," I replied meekly, figuring out pretty quickly that he was in one of his moods. Honestly, dealing with this demon was like dealing with a hormonal teenager.

Well, a teenager that had razor sharp teeth and could end me in an instant.

"The nerve of that girl. Ordering me around as if she's better than _me_. If her father didn't happen to be _Satan_ , I'd have her about six feet under, the wench," Pentious began to mumble as he walked, muttering curses to punctuate almost every sentence.

"Then to _force_ you to work for her at her s-s-stupid hotel. And for what? To rehabilitate sinners who don't even give a damn about changing their ways. I don't believe there is oneblasted soul who is truly remorseful for their actions down here," he continued, voice raising as he ranted.

" _You_ wouldn't want to have a second chance at reaching Heaven, Sir Pentious?" I asked lightly, not wanting to rile him up further, but curious about the answer.

He blinked, peering down at me with an almost surprised expression. He was quiet for a moment, as if pondering the question, then frowned, face pinched back into his annoyed manner.

"No, I don't think s-s-so. Why become one of those fools living in Heaven when I have the chance of ruling all of Hell?"

He must have seen my disapproving frown because I could feel his arms tighten around me, his mouth shifting into a taunt line.

"Oh, and let's not forget all this property of mine I would have to leave behind if I were to so _graciously_ ascend one day," he continued with an eye roll, words laced with biting sarcasm, "I would have to relieve you from our contract, and what a waste of a good soul that would be, wouldn't you agree? Who else would I order around if not you, dearest? Yes, I'd much rather have my little pet with me here than be all alone up there."

He all but snarled those last words, and I would be angry at him if it weren't for the threatening glare he was giving me at that moment. Instead, a cold sort of fear began to creep up my skin, making my body and mind a bit numb.

He was upset, and so he had decided to mock me. I supposed I couldn't blame him. I _did_ just get us into a huge tangle of a mess back there, threatening both of our lives. The encounter with the other demons had left my mind reeling, so much information crammed at once with little time to digest.

I decided to lower my chin, as to not look at the fuming demon currently carrying me home. He was only trying to anger me, right? I wasn't merely just a pet to him, was I? And why, why did I care so much about whether I was or not?

"Hmm, no answer from you, Y/N? And here I thought we had s-s-such a smashingly fun time today... Truly, you must have set a record for yourself on how much you could royally s-s-screw up in the time frame of twenty-four hours. I'd applaud you if my hands weren't currently occupied," he hissed cruelly, apparently inflicting all of his pent-up agitation today towards me.

My face flushed from his scathingly sharp commentary, embarrassment, guilt, and anger bubbling and swirling in my stomach. I clutched tighter to his coat, desperate for comfort, safety. I'd come in close proximity to Sir Pentious several times before, but it was only now that I realized that his body against mine made my anxiety and fear slightly lessen. He was cool to the touch, no warmth radiating from him, suiting his chilly personality. I inhaled deeply. His cologne smelled of warm spice, heady and almost intoxicating.

I took a deep breath, and began to speak.

"I'm sorry I messed up so badly today, Sir Pentious. I- I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I've been trying really hard to get used to life here, trying not to get in your way or cause anything. I'll be better from now on, I promise I will," I spoke to him meekly, words feeling heavy on my tongue.

"You-," I stopped for a second, trying to gather my thoughts, "You've been kind to me, and I've taken advantage of that. Truly, I'm sorry for being troublesome," I finished lamely, chest feeling tight.

Sir Pentious stopped in his tracks, arms slightly loosening their grip. I gathered my courage to glance up at his face. His expression surprised me.

It scared me.

He glared down, pupils slitted into fine lines, dagger-sharp teeth bared. I suddenly wished that we weren't in a remote part of the city. Not one soul could witness the snake tear my own apart.

"Why are you apologizing so pathetically?" he almost shouted in my face, placing me down on my feet for a mere second before scooping me back up, holding me underneath each of my arms and lifting me off the ground like a rag doll to look directly in his eyes. I tried not to pay attention to the way his sharp claws dug into the soft skin of my underarms.

"You should be arguing with me, at the least. _Yell at me_ , tell me that this is my fault. I've degraded you, whisked you away from your entire world, treated you like a bloody dog, ordered you around, and threatened to _murder_ you for damn s-s-sake, yet here you are practically groveling at my feet. And the sincerity of your whole manner... If you were merely flattering me to gain favor, I could tolerate it. Is this a game to you, Y/N? Do you consciously try to be so sickeningly sweet that it frays my last nerve?" he continued, voice rising with each passing second, shaking me in his blinding rage as I gripped his arms for support. I idly wondered if he could see how scared I was in my wide, frantic eyes.

"Do you understand, truly understand, exactly what I am? I was not damned to Hell for trivial misdemeanors, woman. I am not good, I am not nice, and I would have most certainly killed you where you stood in those woods had you not have peaked my interest. I am not _kind_ ," he stopped for a second, as if trying to collect himself, trying to steady his erratic breathing.

"So why..." his voice was so much quieter now, barely above a whisper compared to his delirious shouting not five seconds ago.

It was so unlike him, the expression he was giving me at that moment. He looked so confused, so vulnerable as he peered at me, as if somewhere etched on my face was the answer to his unspoken question. I couldn't help but lift a shaking hand to his face, gently rubbing a cool cheek with my fingers.

We were in such close proximity that I could feel his uneasy breath tickle the stray hairs littering my skin. I leaned in slightly, trying to understand this creature and his confusing rage. He was angry because I was apologizing? What did he want from me? My thoughts became more and more foggy as I realized that he had leaned in closer as well. It was suddenly very quiet, the only noise accompanying us was the rhythm of our breathing and the soft rustle of fabric as I held tighter to his sleeves.

"Why do I..." he continued, and I couldn't help but shutter as his words reverberated against my skin.

He noticed, eyes growing wider for a moment, as if finally realizing something obvious that he hadn't seen before. He drew back, eyes still wide. I watched as he shook his head slightly, watched as he put back on the scowl he wore like a mask.

"Why don't you simply stand up for yourself once in awhile, hmm? Tell me what you really think," he finished lamely, clearing his throat and averting his gaze from me for a moment.

We both knew that this wasn't what he was going to say earlier, but perhaps we both also knew that neither of us was ready for it.

"Ah, well, if that's what you'd like," I finally answered, finding it a bit of a struggle to find my words. My cheeks were hot, and there was a warmth bubbling up in my chest that I couldn't quite describe.

"I think..." I began again after composing myself, confusion melting away, quickly replaced with agitation from how messed up my life had become.

If he wanted me to truly tell him what bothered me, I could only hope he was ready for it.

"I think that sometimes you can be a real asshole."

There was a stifling pause.

"A- an _as-s-s-hole_?" Sir Pentious finally replied softly, eyebrows raised, mouth making a perfect "o" in his shock.

"Yeah, I think that you can be a real shithead, if you want me to tell it to you straight," I continued, realizing now that I was past the point of no return, and, consequently, had nothing to lose.

"And, and I don't like being jostled around like a rag doll. You can't just sling me over your shoulder whenever you want, and you can't keep lifting me up when your angry. While I appreciate you holding me when I'm tired, I- well, I'd like a little more... _respect_. I can walk on my own."

I accentuated my point by motioning my hands at my current position, which happened to be a few feet off the ground, suspended by Sir Pentious's arms hooked underneath my own.

He remained quiet, instead only making a small noise in his chest, placing me carefully to the ground before crossing his arms dejectedly. His expression had softened from shock, but he still looked perturbed, flexing his fingers as if he missed holding me.

I, on the other hand, was currently waiting for him to blow up again. I had overstepped, severely overstepped, and now I wondered if anything could fix it.

"And- and I don't like how you treat the egg bois. They work very hard for you, and well, I know that they can be a little dense, but they are eggs after all. They're _literally eggs_ , Sir Pentious, so give them some slack alright?" I babbled on, knowing that when I lost momentum, reality would begin to crash down.

"I still mean everything I've said before about you, you know. I still think you're kin- ah, not as bad as you think you are. But, these are my critiques... so... yea."

"Hm, yes, well, that's my fifty cents," I decided to conclude, the dirty gravel under my feet squelching as I dug my heel into the ground, not wanting to look straight into his face.

There was silence, the awkward, suffocating kind of silence that feels heavier than anything else in the world.

Sir Pentious cleared his throat.

"Hmm..." he began, causing me to look up at his face, his surprisingly calm, placid face.

"I suppose you make a good point," he muttered, scratching the back of his head as he turned to the side a bit, as if hiding something.

I wanted to comment that I could still see the blush plastered to his face despite his attempts to cover it, but I opted not to, deciding that antagonizing him now would probably be a death wish. Anyway, the moment was too special, too significant. I could tell that things were going to change, shift if only a little bit, after today.

"They are only eggs, aren't they..." I could hear Sir Pentious murmur under his breath, contemplating, as he beckoned me to walk beside him to the estate.

I smiled as I matched my pace to his own.


	16. Loose Screws

I had been expecting the egg bois to welcome me kindly, as they always had, but I suppose I hadn't realized exactly how fond they had become of me until I walked through the front door of the estate, promptly greeted with a swarm of breakfast-oriented companions joyfully shouting all around me.

"She's here!" one cried from his perch on a table.

"Why'd you come back so late?"

"She didn't _die!_ " continued another one in a manner that was a bit too upbeat for my liking.

"Hey everyone," I replied, perhaps a bit less enthusiastically considering that I was extremely tired and had a few more cuts and bruises than I had started out with that day.

"Alright bois, give the lady some space," interrupted an egg with a particular air of importance about him as he ushered the others to shoo away.

"Twenty-Two!" I exclaimed, cracking a smile as I patted the little creature. "Always coming to my rescue, huh?"

Twenty-Two turned bashful at my statement, twisting his little foot in a shy manner before opening his mouth to reply, just to be cut off by a very familiar demon.

 _"S-s-scatter, you vermin._ We are _far_ too tired for your useless, insistent, _driveling_ nonsen-"

Sir Pentious stopped mid-sentence, as if suddenly struck by something. He glanced so quickly at my face that I almost didn't realize that it had been happened. I couldn't help but faintly smile while I watched him take a second to compose himself, slowly lowering the fist he had begun to shake in the air like the grumpy snake he was.

"What I meant to s-s-state is that Y/N has had a very long, very strenuous day, and she'd do no better with you all badgering her. So, if you would not mind, perhaps you could cease your endless questions for a later hour, once she has adjusted?"

He steepled his fingers, and I watched as his tail swished side to side in an annoyed manner. He looked tired himself, brows furrowed, mouth drawn in a taunt line while an eye slightly twitched. I placed a tentative hand on his forearm, squeezing lightly. Glancing back at me, his face slackened almost immediately, making him look even more worn out.

"Right," I began gently, "I should probably wash up and then go to bed. Wow, bed sounds so nice right now."

I giggled, trying to clear the air. It seemed to work, as most of the egg bois wandered away somewhere, of course only after bidding me goodnight.

"Don't forget to have me or one of the egg bois tend to your cuts," Sir Pentious added as the last few of them filed out, placing a hand over my outstretched one before grabbing it and turning it over, exposing where he had sunken his claws into flesh only earlier that day.

"Yes, sir" I replied, trying to sound upbeat as his expression only darkened, staring at my marred skin.

He let go, not saying a word.

Taking that as my cue to leave, I was just about to reach the hallway when I heard him finally speak. Turning around, I was a bit surprised to see that he hadn't even moved from where I had left him.

"Sir Pentious, what did you say?" I asked softly, watching as he turned to look straight into my eyes.

He stared. He blinked. Then, he spoke.

_"I'm sorry."_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking into my room, I was tempted to just jump onto my bed and pass out right then and there. Unfortunately, common sense and logic decided to override the instinct. Well, that, _and_ the promise of a warm, relaxing bath.

I undressed, pulling off my now dirtied shirt, wasting no time in taking off my shoes and plopping them on the other side of the room-

Oh, a dagger fell out of one of them.

I blanched, wondering how stupid I could be for momentarily forgetting what I was given. With shaky hands, I picked up the small object, feeling the weight of it in my hands and on my heart.

I hated secrets. Hated _lies_. A part of me regretted ever accepting it. Another part told me that I might just need it one day. A certain demon I knew told me that the weak didn't last very long here, after all.

I decided on the very classy option of hiding the weapon in my underwear drawer, wrapping it in my handkerchief before tucking it in a far corner of the large space. Sir Pentious might be a demon, but from what I had gathered, he wasn't the type to go rummaging through someone's... ahem... _personal_ items.

Letting out a deep sigh, I returned to the very urgent task of finally not smelling like crap. Tossing aside the rest of my clothes, I marched to the bathroom connected to my own room, turned on the faucet, and finally sank into the warm water.

As I bathed, I tried to just relax, tried to clear my head with the smell of flowery soap and the sound of running water.

As usual, it didn't work.

I thought back on everything that had happened. I thought about Travis, then Alastor and his remedy for my freedom. I shivered despite the warmth, on edge for a number of reasons. I thought of my encounter with the Princess of Hell and her companions. What was I supposed to even do when I eventually had to work at the Happy Hotel? Would the demons there try to hurt me, too?

I supposed that not every demon I had met was entirely bad. Sir Pentious, for example... But even _he_ was confusing, brash at times and degrading. He seemed to want to improve, at least, but I knew that it would be foolish of me to fully trust him. It had shocked me, how devastated I was when he made it seem as if this was all a lie. And what even _was_ "this?"

I splashed water on my face, making an annoyed sound in the back of my throat before sinking down into the bath until only my nose and up were not covered, wishing I could just make all my problems and questions disappear with the ease of popping a soap bubble.

Closing my eyes, I might have gotten a fraction of peace in this eternal pit of suffering, but of course _that_ wasn't gonna happen, right?

At that moment, I heard the loudest, most _dreadful_ scream I had ever heard emanate from somewhere in the estate. The most alarming part, however, was that it sounded familiar.

It was Sir Pentious.

I all but jumped out of the bathtub, slipping on the tiled floor before gaining my footing, stopping only long enough to loosely wrap a towel around my still-soaked body.

Could Cherry Bomb have intruded again? Sir Pentious has seemed so tired before I left him, before he had apologized. Would he be able to protect himself against her? Would the egg bois be alright, too?

Brandishing a large comb I had yanked from the bathroom counter before running into the main living quarters of Sir Pentious's house, I barely had enough time to even realize how stupid I must have appeared, far too worried about the implications of a threat from the scream I had heard.

It didn't look like Cherry Bomb was here, I quickly realized as I found the area mostly empty, save for a few egg bois staring at me with a mixture of confusion and mortification. The shriek seemed to have come from Sir Pentious's study, so my next move was to get there as quickly as possible while not busting my ass on the hard floor. Drawing closer to his chambers, I could hear loud noises, crashing, banging sounds emitted from his closed door.

I didn't even bother knocking before swinging the door wide open, hoping that I wasn't too late.

Sir Pentious stood in his study, alone, holding up a contraption of some sort as if he was about to throw it. Instead, he caught sight of me, proceeded to drop the item in his hand to the floor, then (almost simultaneously) let his jaw drop, as well.

I stared back, becoming keenly aware of how I must have looked to him, only in a bath towel, eyes wide and frantic, soap suds still in my hair.

Suddenly, as if snapping out of a daze, he reacted, pointing a finger in an accusatory fashion at me before practically shouting,

_"You're indecent!"_

I gasped, feeling equal parts embarrassed and insulted. Pointing a finger back at him from across the room, I replied, _"You screamed so loud that I thought you were dying!"_

Sir Pentious averted his gaze, as if realizing that he just might ( _perhaps_ ) had been staring.

"I-" Sir Pentious began to say, visibly deflating, "I s-s-screamed because..."

I stared at him in the sternest and most expectant manner I could muster, given the certain... _compromising_ condition I was in at the moment.

_"I forgot the screws."_

"The screws?" I asked, tightening my towel around my body, wondering if he had finally lost it.

"Yes. Screws. _The_ screws-s-s. The ones that I had left to get more of to begin with. The ones that inadvertently caused you to get kidnapped, then almost killed, then forced to labor at a god-damned hotel. _Those screws, Y/N!"_

"The screws..." I echoed lightly, finally remembering, "That's why you were throwing stuff around?"

"Yes," he replied, gritting his teeth.

I nodded solemnly, water droplets flinging from my hair as I did so, both of us taking a moment to breathe. A pin drop could be heard in the room as I mourned the loss of the famous screws that had brought me on this adventure with a Victorian snake demon who owned my freaking soul.

Digesting everything that had just occurred, I proceeded to keel over in the _largest_ fit of laughter I think I have ever experienced in my entire life.

"Are... are you alright?" Sir Pentious asked from somewhere in front of me, "Is... Is this a normal thing for you? Did you fall before arriving here? Did you break?"

I felt something poke the side of my head, deciding to finally look up through my persistent wheezing. Sir Pentious was acting as if I had the bubonic plague, keeping a very safe distance from me as he stretched his arm as far as it could go to poke me once again.

"I'm just wearing a bath towel, sir; I'm not contagious," I stated through my giggles, watching as he immediately began to blush, retreating from me in an instant.

Brushing off my comment by outright ignoring it, he quickly asked, "Why are you laughing?"

"Because, it's, well it's _funny_. All of this," I gestured broadly at everything, "Is absolutely ridiculous. I'm trapped in Hell right now. I'm in Hell! And I, and I work for a demon, and my coworkers are _eggs_ , and I almost died several times today, and... and..."

My laughing had begun to slowly turn into sobs without me even realizing it, causing poor Sir Pentious to widen his eyes even further at the state I was in.

" _And we don't have any screws, Pentious!_ " I half-shouted, voice cracking as I furiously tried to rub away the tears that were forming on my face. He must think I'm a real crybaby, I thought absently.

"Now, now," Sir Pentious began, nervously wringing his hands, "I'll buy you more s-s-screws, alright? I'll buy you enough to _s-swim_ in! Dear, just, _please_ don't sob in such a manner."

"It's not the screws, sir," I sighed half-heartedly, looking up to see him awkwardly pacing near me, patting my head in a now-familiar gesture.

Deciding that I was too tired, both mentally and physically, to really give any shits, I opted to walk forward and hug him before he could protest.

He froze, body rigid as a wire before he eased up, sighing as well before wrapping his arms around me. He sounded worn, defeated when he spoke up again.

"I know it's not the s-s-screws."

"It's been a long day," I mumbled, my reply coming out muffled as I buried my face in his chest, voice smaller than I thought I'd sound.

We stood like that for a few moments, Sir Pentious lightly rubbing my upper back while I tried to stifle my tears, absently thinking about how I was getting his coat all wet from the hug. He hummed lightly, awkwardly, as if unsure of what to say. Finally, I heard him clear his throat.

"...Is that a comb in your hand?"

I unwound myself from him to look down at my clenched fist, realizing that I had, indeed, been holding a comb the entire time. Vaguely, I remembered grabbing one, but it was only now that I truly realized it.

"Yes," I began, drawing back from Sir Pentious to brandish my mighty weapon (the formidable comb) in the air, "I was going to protect you with it, of course. In case you got in trouble again."

I looked up at him as I continued to wave around my comb, maybe having a little too much fun with it, "You know, I gotta watch out for you, sir. I wouldn't want you to-"

Catching his eyes, I lost my train of thought for second. His expression caught me off guard, I guess. He was smiling, not smirking.

It was a very important distinction, at least to me. Important enough to make my face go hot, to make my stomach feel fluttery.

"Hmm," he began, a chuckle, a laugh, ghosted in his words, "Yes, I'm very lucky to have such an astute person watching over me, aren't I? I've always thought you more of an angel than a demon, s-s-so would this make you my own guardian, dear?"

It suddenly became very difficult to look him in the eyes, so I instead averted my attention to where my foot traced random patterns on the floor, heat rising in my cheeks and spreading down my neck.

"Guardian angel? _Me?_ I think your flattery is a bit far-fetched this time, sir," I replied softly, playfully, "What, are you going to ask me if it hurt when I fell from Heaven, next?"

He laughed this time, a full, open laugh that made me have no other choice but to laugh along.

"I think you have exerted yourself enough for one day," Sir Pentious began after he had died down, "You should probably finish your bath and then retire to bed after your wounds-s-s have been attended to and bandaged."

"Sir, yes sir," I saluted, hoisting my bath towel up with as much dignity one wearing solely a bath towel could muster before marching to the door, waving a quick (slightly embarrassed) goodbye to the demon before leaving.

For some odd reason, I couldn't help but not mind it so much anymore.

That is, not having any screws.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! A bit silly! A bit of drama! Crying! Laughing! What more could you ask for! Haha... I’m bad at end notes. As always, please comment your thoughts. They fuel me!!! Thank you!!! >:) ❤️


	17. Powdering Hair

Over the course of a week and six days, several things had changed, and several things had stayed the same. I was still cleaning the estate every day, finding new rooms that offered a wide variety of cobwebs, dust, or a delightful combination of both. I talked with the egg bois, read in the library, and occasionally played chess with Sir Pentious, who had commended me just the other day that I had shown much improvement.

There was still a certain barrier between us both, an acknowledgement of the situation that lead us to meet, an acknowledgment of a certain amount of trust that probably would never form in a circumstance such as this. Like most things lately, I tried to push that to the back of my mind, tried to stay busy, stay preoccupied, stay moving. After all, I only had one more day before...

Anyway, because of this, I had decided to take up baking in my free time.

Hands clad in red and yellow mitts, I carefully took out the tray of cookies from the oven, placing them on a cooling rack as a few egg bois watched, perched on various counters of the kitchen.

Lucky for them, I had learned that applesauce or bananas served as decent enough substitutes for eggs in baking recipes, having realized that using actual eggs in front of them might be (definitely be) a _bit_ horrifying.

"Alright guys, they're all yours," I finally decreed after snatching three cookies, bundling two in a napkin and holding the last one in my hand, ready to take a bite.

"Thanks, Miss Y/N!" an egg exclaimed as he reached a tiny hand toward one.

"Gee, I sure am going to miss you once you leave for the hotel," another added, eating a whole cookie in one bite.

I dropped mine.

"Are... you alright, miss?" An egg wobbled near me, but his voice sounded far away for some reason.

No, no, no, _no_.

"Yes," I said after a beat, clutching tightly to my bundle so I wouldn't drop it as well, "Just have butter fingers."

I lifted my hand in a wave to emphasize my point, only to stop short when I saw that it was shaking. I cleared my throat, startled that it suddenly felt tight.

"I'm gonna go find Sir Pentious, you guys enjoy."

I left as quickly as I could, only slow enough to catch an egg boi asking another if he thought it would be ok to eat the floor-cookie.

Checking in his study, then the central area, I still didn't see him. Peering into different spare rooms, I finally decided to head toward the front door, wondering if he was loitering there for some reason.

I stood in front of the large entrance, thinking for a moment about how I would have to leave again, about how I would have to face new demons, _dangerous_ demons. About how I might see Alastor or Travis, about how I might just have to use that little dagger of mine...

The door opened with a loud bang, startling me beyond belief.

"Y/N, what are you doing here?" asked Sir Pentious, holding what seemed to be an opened envelope in one hand, scratching the side of his head with the other.

"Was- was trying to, to find you," I stuttered, internally cursing myself at how shaken I was.

He scoffed, and I realized how angry he looked, the hand holding the envelope practically crushing the poor piece of paper. His sudden frustration only made me more anxious, mentally going through a list of what I could have possibly done to offend him.

"Why are you so pale?" he asked suddenly, tone substantially softer as he finally processed the state I was in.

"I'm fine, don't worry," I replied curtly, making sure my voice was steady this time, forcing a tight smile, "I brought you cookies."

Sir Pentious's face went slack at my last comment, visibly relaxing.

"You made them yourself..?" he finally asked, his question visibly measured, as if trying to restrain his earlier annoyance.

"Uh, yes. It's my new hobby. The egg bois seemed to like them," I replied awkwardly, suddenly a bit self-conscious as I offered the bundle of cookies to him.

He took them from me, staring as if he'd never seem chocolate chips before, then looked at me, like he suddenly was lost.

"Oh no, do you not like cookies?" I began, forgetting my previous anxiety as a wave of embarrassment washed over me, "I should've asked... I can take them back-"

" _No_ ," he almost shouted, clutching possessively to my small gift, "I just... No one has baked for me before."

"Oh."

"...Thank you."

"Anytime. I mean, it's the least I could do after you gave me that lovely music box. I listen to it every night, ya know," I laughed lightly, partially because of my own discomfort and partially because of the face he was giving me.

" _Really?_ Hmmm..." he hummed, face as serious as the morgue, seemingly lost deep in thought.

"Did you... I mean," I hesitated, twisting my shirt in a nervous gesture, not wanting to antagonize him further, "Do you want to talk about the letter in your hand? Is it bad?"

He visibly stiffened, breathed deeply, spoke.

"You'll be leaving soon. _"The Happy Hotel" staff_ thought it would be a wonderful idea to remind me of our little deal," he practically spat, shaking the envelope in his tight grip, only softening when he asked "Are you prepared?"

"Yes, sir," I stated simply, wondering if my answer counted as a lie.

"Good," he deadpanned, reaching forward to straighten my tie, a newly emerging habit of his ever since I said that carrying me around was off-limits.

"So, chess later?" I asked hopefully, trying to lighten the mood, placing a hand on his outstretched one.

He withdrew quickly, as if stung. I looked up into his eyes, confused, but his expression only startled me. He looked sad.

"No, I have much to do today, perhaps tomorrow." He averted his eyes from my own, pocketed the napkin of cookies, and turned away from me, toward that damned study.

"Did I- did I do something _wrong_ , Sir Pentious? Am I a problem? _Please_ , you pinky-promised you'd be honest," I finally broke, voice cracking.

He all but spun around, looking incredibly surprised.

" _What? No, of course not_ ," his eyes wide as he placed each hand on a side of my face, making me look up at him, "You could never do anything wrong, dearest. You are _far_ too good."

"And that..." he sighed, " _That's_ the problem."

He let go of me, turned, and left before I could even respond.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I paced back and forth in my bedroom, stopped to grab a loose sock on my floor, bunched it up, and threw it at the nearest wall.

"Can you _believe_ it? Like, _actually_ believe, it?" I began to rant, ears hot, "I ask him to be honest, and he pulls _that_ stunt? I asked for an answer, a _simple_ answer, Twenty-Two, not another freaking riddle of his. _Why is he like thisss."_

I practically hissed the last statement, causing me to think of him again, then proceeded to grab the nearest pillow and scream in it. Needless to say, it wasn't my proudest moment.

"There, there," Twenty-Two replied comfortingly, patting my shoulder from his perch on my bed.

"I've been trying my best, you know? And I can see that he's trying too, but I just _don't_ see why it's so hard for him to talk to me. What does he want from me? Everything I do seems to be wrong, but then he tells me that I'm not wrong, but then he says that _that's_ wrong? _Ughhhhh boys are so complicated."_

"Mmhmm, tell me about it," Twenty-Two agreed sagely, swinging his small legs from side to side.

I stood up, grabbing my pajamas before entering the bathroom to change, still continuing with my rant as I did so.

"I guess he's not a boy. More of a demon-serpent of hell and all, but you know, same thing. And the worst part is that, well, I really care about him. I do."

As I walked out, throwing my dirty clothes in a nearby hamper, a new thought donned on me, causing my aggravation to increase even more.

"And you know what, my egg friend?" I clenched my fists, " _He didn't even try my cookies!"_

Twenty-Two gasped.

"He didn't?!"

"No, he didn't! I worked really hard on those, and he didn't even bother to try them in front of me! What if he didn't like them? Oh wow, now I won't be able to sleep until I know."

I plopped onto my bed, arms crossed, fuming. In the far corner of my mind, I knew I was being irrational, maybe a bit ridiculous, but honestly, I didn't give a shit.

Suddenly I sprung up, having decided something.

"You know what? I'm gonna go and ask him. I know he told me not to bother him tonight, but really, it's his fault for not trying them earlier. I'm gonna march straight up to that slithering bastard and really say my mind. _Right?"_

"Right!" Twenty-Two replied, now shaking a small fist and jumping up and down on my bed. "Wait," he suddenly hesitated, visibly concerned, "But does this mean you guys are divorcing?"

I suddenly became at a loss for words, trying to cover my red face before replying with a very flustered, "We- we aren't married, Twenty-Two. We're not even dating."

"Ohh," he began, smiling once more, "Ok then, go get 'em!"

"Right!" I exclaimed, not fully recovered, opening my door with a flourish before marching straight toward his study.

"Sir Pentious!" I shouted, fists still balled at my sides, stopping short on my way to his study when I heard a noise from the kitchen.

It sounded like hiccups.

Walking toward the sound, I found him leaning across the countertop, right next to the liquor cabinet.

"Y/N, my jammiest bit of jam, what the hell are you doing here?" Sir Pentious asked, followed by a very unusual giggle.

"I came to ask you something..." I hesitated, taking in the situation as Pentious held a bottle to his lips, "...Are you drunk?"

" _Drunk!_ " he scoffed, holding a hand to his chest like an affronted old lady, "If anything, I'm only half-rats. Really, don't shame me for powdering hair every once in awhile, mis-s-sy."

"You don't even _have_ hair, sir," I replied, beginning to grow worried for him, "Are you having a stroke?"

He suddenly broke down in laughter, followed by aggressive hiccups, followed by more laughter as he took another swig.

"You could make a s-s-stuffed bird laugh, my dear," he said through a snort.

Realizing rather quickly that I was the only sensible adult in this scenario, I decided that the best course of action was to take away the bottle he was currently drinking.

I reached to do that just when he decided to trip me with the end of his tail. Falling forward, I thankfully didn't hit the floor as the rest of his tail wound around my legs, partially constricting my middle as well.

Not so thankfully, I was now trapped.

"Well, this is new," I couldn't help but utter, completely done with his shit for tonight, "Let me go, sir," I continued, trying to sound stern.

"And let you _leave_ me? I think not!" he slurred, his head bobbing as if he had fallen asleep before jerking back up.

"I'm not gonna leave you, Sir Pentious, why would you even say that?" I asked as I tried in vain to wriggle out of his grasp.

"Don't s-s-sell me a dog, you bricky little thing. I know you're leaving me soon. And I'll be all alone, with a bunch of _eggs-s-s_ ," he wailed the last part, constricting me even tighter, making it hard to breathe.

"Uncle, _uncle!_ " I exclaimed, hitting the side of his tail with a fist.

"Ah yes-s-s, I had an uncle, once," Sir Pentious replied, suddenly becoming melancholic, "And he left me, too!"

He wailed again, took another swig, then giggled.

"Sir Pentious, _really_ , I'm still going to see you even after I start working at the hotel... it's nothing to get so worked up about," I tried to tell him reasonably, hoping it would calm him.

He gasped, " _Nothing to get worked up about?_ Are you daft? I don't trust any of the skilamalink villains-s-s residing in that damnable hotel. What if they hurt you?"

"Try to," he gasped once more, " _S-s-seduce you?!"_

"You can call me a meater all you want, but I refuse to lose my chuckaboo. I'm sure there are plenty of gal-sneakers roaming around there, just waiting to take you for themselves-s-s."

"Sir, I seriously have no idea what you're saying," I attempted to get through to him, still trying to wiggle away.

"And you have no idea how to _dress_ , either," he rebutted, "You aren't even wearing your evening corset, and in front of a man! Imagine, those other bastards looking at you like this! What a scandal! You, well, you simply _can't_ leave me then."

"What, Pentious- I, I'm in my pajamas. They're long-sleeved. My pants go below my knees!"

"And your _ankles_ are showing, as-s-s well!" he exclaimed pointedly, as if I was full-on naked in front of him.

"I'm not having a collie s-s-shangle with you right now over this, Y/N. You are going to stay like this with me so that I don't lose you to those as-s-holes, and that's _final_."

I groaned, smacking a hand to my forehead as I finally stopped struggling to take a much-needed breath.

"Sir, you're being ridiculous. I have to go with them. We can't run away from this..."

For a second I thought I had finally gotten through to him, but I was sorely mistaken after his pause.

 _"Run away!_ Excellent idea, we can take the egg, yet! We'll, yes, we'll make a few egg bois hide under each of our sheets, so when they come looking for us-s-s they'll think we're asleep. Haha, dearest, this is why I got the morbs just thinking about losing you. Yes-s-s, how wonderfu-"

" _Sir!_ " I finally yelled.

He blinked, closing one eye, then the other. He hiccuped. He stared.

"Sir, we can't do that. You'll agree in the morning. You're just drunk right now; you don't care about _reality_."

"At least I care at all," he replied sharply, "You can't s-s-seem to say the same. Aren't you worried about what will happen? You leave in _one_ more day!"

" _Of course I care_ ," I exploded, causing his tail to soften its grip ever-so-slightly, "Of course I do, sir. I'm, I'm scared out of my mind. I don't want things to change, I don't want to get hurt, I don't want to worry you. That's why I didn't say anything."

He grimaced, as if sobered from my response.

"You're _far_ too good," he murmured.

I realized that that might just be the problem.

"In my defense, you didn't seem to care either, until now when your drunk off your ass," I gestured to him, causing him to blush, "And, and you know why I came to talk to you?"

"Why?" He hiccuped.

"I'm angry with you," I stated, crossing my arms, lifting my chin.

" _Angry?_ Well, this is new," he muttered, sounding guilty, his grip lessening even more.

"Yes, well, I'm angry because you never tell me anything. You confuse me, and I can't believe that it takes _this_ ," I gestured once again at his entire figure, "To get any real honesty from you. I didn't realize that... that you were so worried about me working at the hotel."

He blinked, head down like a scolded child as he placed his bottle on the counter dejectedly.

"Listen," I continued, anger deflating from his gesture, "We obviously need to work on the whole communicating with each other thing. We're a team now, right? I'm not going to leave you, but I need to be able to know what you're thinking, and I can't always do that unless we _talk_. We'll have each other's backs from now on, okay?"

Sir Pentious released me from his hold, causing me to stumble a bit as my feet touched the floor, only to find myself pressed against his chest in a hug.

"Yes, alright," he replied, then hiccuped, "I apologize, by the way. S-s-sorry I upset you."

I inhaled, both from relief and because I had previously been oxygen-deprived.

The moment might've been heart-warming if Pentious hadn't decided to start giggling like schoolgirl shorty after.

"Heh, heh, how inappropriate... Doing the bear... And so quickly after meeting each other," he snickered drunkenly, causing me shove him off of me with a sigh.

"You need to go to bed," I began, helping him get up from his half-lean, half-fallen to the floor state, "Why'd you even get so drunk in the first place?"

"I was trying to drink my problems away... And yet, they still pursue me."

"Drama queen."

" _Pardon?_ "

"Heh, nothing sir," I laughed, pulling him toward the direction of his room.

"I need to escort you to your room, first. It wouldn't be gentlemanly of me if I were to not," he slurred, true figure of elegance as he wobbled this way and that like a noodle.

"Maybe next time; I don't think you could make it to your _own_ room by yourself," I muttered, helping him until we were at his door.

"Ah, I suppose I should bid you goodnight then. I've had much nanty narking with you today, my lady. Ha, I hope your father doesn't catch wind of how late we conversed tonight. What a scandal... truly..."

" _Goodnight_ , sir," I couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Oh, one last thing," he said, his door about to close.

"Those cookies tasted absolutely _delightful_."

And with that, I was left alone in the hallway.

Flicking his closed door the bird, I retired to bed for the night, as well, surprisingly feeling a bit more exasperated but a lot less nervous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I had so much fun looking up Victorian slang... I was going to put the definitions at the bottom here, but I had a better idea. >:)   
> Whoever comments all of the slang used in this chapter with their correct definitions gets to choose between two options for Y/N’s future outfit change.   
> Good luck, and feel free to comment your thoughts, as well


	18. Checking In

"Alright, single file bois, everyone will get one," I couldn't help but laugh as I leaned down once more to place a soft kiss on yet another egg boi's forehead, smiling lightly as they would each offer me their goodbye. "I'm only leaving for the day, you know. I'll be back in the evening."

I wasn't quite sure how this event had even started. I was finally ready to go, a bundle of nerves and anxiety after I had finished getting ready for the long day ahead of me, when the eggs had begun to flock to me once more, each either complaining about my soon-to-be absence or swarming me with questions as to when I'd be back. To ease a particularly fretful little guy, I crouched down to his level to assure him that I was definitely not going to replace them all with new demons or get lost on my way home _or_ , strangely specifically, run away and join the circus as a juggling acrobat.

After even _this_ seemed to not appease him, I finally kissed his forehead to soothe him further, but I was not anticipating that absolutely all of the other eggs would expect the same treatment.

" _Will you all hurry up_ ," hissed Sir Pentious from a far corner of the room where he leaned against the wall, arms crossed, definitely, _certainly_ , not pouting.

I wanted to mention to him that he had been in no rush only ten minutes earlier, but I kept it to myself, too preoccupied with my several dear (children) demons.

"Maybe I should come with you," Twenty-Two began after I had pressed a gentle kiss right below his small top hat, "Who _knows_ what might happen..."

"I appreciate it, but I think I'd be best if you stay here with Sir Pentious..." I leaned forward to whisper in close to him, " _Someone_ has to take care of him while I'm gone, right? Do you think you could do me this favor?"

Twenty-Two stood at attention after hearing this, his small arms poised stiffly at his sides like a miniature solider as he gave me a curt salute, serious as the plague.

"You can count on me!" he suddenly smiled, as if excited to be helping. I couldn't help but smile back.

Sir Pentious almost hesitantly drew near to me, arms still crossed but expression slightly softer. For a second, I wondered if he was expecting a goodbye kiss too, but the thought was quickly dismissed when he began ushering me to the door.

"Shall we be off?" he asked, his voice unnaturally airy, only further showing the strain in it.

I nodded after wrapping the shawl from the coat rack around me, obscuring most of my face. Linking an arm with his, I couldn't help but feel another wave of fear wash through me.

The last time I had left the estate, it hadn't ended well.

"Don't look s-s-so nervous, dear," Sir Pentious piped up as we walked through the door, onto the dingy, barren street, of course not before I waved goodbye once again to the lingering bois. "We'll- _you_ will get through this-s-s... And, well, perhaps you'll even have-" he gritted the last word through a forced smile that really more closely resembled a grimace.

" _Fun_."

I snorted. He stared, surprised.

"Thank you for trying to cheer me up," I said through a smile, a genuine one.

"Don't mention it... Be _careful_ , won't you?"

"Of course," I kicked a stray piece of gravel as we walked, noticing the buildings and crowds around us become denser, "I mean, like I've said, I can handle this. I did summon a demon all by myself, after all. Oh, I punched one right in the face, too."

I couldn't help but puff up my chest a bit at the thought, only deflating when I realized that Pentious was quietly chuckling at me. Placing a hand to my heart, I tried my best to feign my most scandalized expression, causing his shoulders to shake even more.

"Yes, yes-s-s, I'm well aware," he finally said after he calmed, "But you will be meeting far more demons than you have before, and they will not treat you with the courtesy that my henchmen have."

"Or the courtesy _you've_ shown me?" I glanced up at him for a moment, noticing the way his arm tightened around mine along with my words.

"Perhaps I've grown a _smidge_ fond of you," he finally replied after a little while, visibly perturbed, as if the notion that he had become soft for me was something wildly incomprehensible.

We walked in silence for awhile longer after that, passing liquor stores and brothels along every street corner. I decided to take up the very skillful game of avoiding stepping on any stray pieces of trash or broken syringes, which there was startlingly a plethora of. Biting my lip, I idly wondered if I should ask him the question that had been on my mind for awhile. We were supposed to be a team now, so why was I so hesitant?

"Sir Pentious..."

"Hmm?" he seemed to have been in a world of his own, tensing at the sound of his name like it had snapped him out of a daze.

"Can we talk about the night you were drunk?"

I watched as his pace faltered, mouth taunt in a straight line before turning to hide the growing embarrassment evident on his face.

"And whatever would there even be to discuss?" Pentious airily asked in the most guilty tone I had ever heard in my entire life.

" _Sir Pennn_ ," I felt like stomping my foot for a second, refusing to believe that a snake could be this hardheaded, "Please, you _promi-_ "

Sir Pentious had stopped walking, instead opting to lean down as he pressed a finger to my chest, letting out an insulted scoff, a true trademark move of his.

"Sir _Pen_? Why, I have _never_... How _dare_ you not address me with my proper title. Yes, well, I s-s-shan't hear another _peep_ out of you, missy," he exclaimed with the excessive flamboyance of someone who is only feigning anger, the way his face deepened in color not the only give-away of his false indignation.

Thoroughly exasperated, I sighed, which was becoming a trademark of my very own.

"Yes, _sir_ ," I replied, "But I didn't really think you would have minded, after all, you called me a _chuckaboo_. I mean, like, what the hell even _is_ that? A bit informal, don't you agree?"

"Well, that's, hm."

He was blushing madly at this point, making me actually really interested in what the word meant.

"You called me a _drama queen!_ " He exclaimed once more, picking up traction after bringing up the point, his expression victorious as he lifted his accusing finger to the air.

I simply motioned to the stance he had taken up, face deadpan.

"Alright, I s-s-see your point," he grumpily lowered his finger, instead opting to cross his arms, "It's just... embarrassing to talk about... I was a complete fool; I know that."

"The night was a bit foggy... I remember most things but-" he paused, looking down at me with such worried eyes that it startled me, "I didn't harm you in any way, did I?"

"What, _no_ ," I intertwined my arm with his own again, squeezing lightly before we began to walk again, "I mean, you had a death grip on me with your tail, but it was more uncomfortable than anything else," I chuckled, trying to ease his worry.

His expression only darkened, eyebrows furrowed as if he were internally scolding himself, "I just... I totally lose my wits-s-s when speaking with you. That night, I really did let go of the reigns; I could have s-s-seriously-"

He stopped short, instead lifting my chin with his clawed hand to make me look him dead in the eyes, his slitted pupils narrowed, solemn, needle-like, with an expression that was just as sharp.

"You understand what position you are in, don't you, my dear? Owning your soul... that's one thing entirely... but I would never overstep my bounds, abuse my power over you to harm you in any way. Not more than I already have... I owe you that much, _certainly_ more..."

"Thank you, Sir Pentious, but it's ok to be more open with me," I told him, voice soft, exposed, "I'm honestly kind of glad we were able to talk the way we did that night. Do you, do you remember what I said? About us?"

"We are a team," he replied without hesitation, suddenly letting go of my chin as he swung his head away from where I couldn't see his face.

"Yes," I smiled, "We are."

It felt so different, when he said those words instead of me. And the way he said it, seriously, without any doubt, made me feel as if it were all the more true. To walk side by side, to be more than simply a subordinate of his... I hadn't exactly realized how much I had wanted that, not until now.

"You've made me promise quite a few things as of late, you know," he continued after a beat, "I have something I want you to promise, too."

With his free hand, he straightened his bow tie, contemplative.

"Please, when I come to pick you up in the evening, please be there, waiting for me, s-s-safe."

We had made it to the front entrance of the hotel, and I hadn't even realized. Everything was suddenly happening so fast, too fast. Could I promise him even that? I hoped so, desperately hoped so. I didn't want to die, didn't want to have my soul trapped in Hell, losing more humanity than I had already. To morph into something I am not... not yet.

"Hmm," I began, holding out my hand to him, plastering a smile to my face, " _Pinky_ promise?"

His smile was sad when he linked his to mine, a soft line that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Well, I suppose this is where we part. The letter I received made it clear that I am not invited, the bastards-s-s. And you remember when it said I would retrieve you?

"Five, Sir."

"And not a blasted s-s-second more," he huffed, giving me one last once-over, smoothing down the wrinkles in my shirt.

"Well, goodbye," I replied rather awkwardly, placing my hand over his for one last moment before walking toward what very much seemed to be the belly of the beast.

He stood where I left him as I walked up to the front door, several feet away from him. I had so many chances in my life fade away because I was too scared to act on them. Often, I'd find myself thinking about all of the moments I could have told my family I loved them, my friends that I cherished them, strangers on a passing street that I was lucky to be a part of their world, _our_ world. Now, I was neither a part of that same world, nor did I dare miss any more chances I might have while living in this much, much crueler one.

I turned on my heels.

"Oh, sir, I forgot something," I rushed back to him, only skidding to a halt when I was a few inches away from where he stood, "Lean down, please."

Looking more confused than I'd ever seen him, he promptly obeyed, having to bend comically low so that we were face-to-face. I gently cupped his face between my hands, drawing closer to him before my brain could fully decided that this was a bad idea. It was only a forehead kiss, there was nothing strange about that. Right?

Closing my eyes, I hesitated for only a moment.

And then that moment became a few seconds, and then I realized what was happening, and then I wanted to spontaneously combust.

Shifting awkwardly, I bumped my forehead against his, realized that I had conked it a bit too hard, jerked backwards, fell on my ass, then proceeded to spring back up.

" _Ouch!_ " we both exclaimed in unison, rubbing our heads at the same time while I also internally collapsed into a heap of embarrassment.

" _What was-s-s that?_ " Sir Pentious asked, the epitome of perplexed.

I respond with a very tactful, " _Okie, see you later,_ " the epitome of a fool, before I darted to the front door of the hotel, not allowing him to ask anything else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've heard people say that if you repeat a mantra over and over again in your head, it can help clear the mind and even soothe the spirit. I, being the level-headed individual I am, decided to take this to heart as I all but bolted in the opposite direction of the poor snake.

_God I'm an idiot, God I'm an idiot, God I'm an idiot. God I'm an idio-_

Whoever said that b.s. about mantras was lying, I quickly decided before knocking on the door in front of me, suddenly scrambling to be as far away from Sir Pentious as possible. Why did I have to make such a fool of myself? Sir Pentious had only stated earlier on our walk that he often loses his wits around me, but could I really say that I don't fare the same? I had been terrified of him before, so I could understand the anxieties I previously contained toward him, but now... why were they coming back? And why were they of such a very, very different nature?

" _You actually came!_ "

I nearly jumped out of my skin, the sound of Charlie's voice so foreign in its friendly, excited nature compared to the rest of the inhabitants of Hell I had come across.

She was also, notably, very loud.

"I-" I began, trying to gather my thoughts, only to be pulled inside by Charlie with an unusual amount of strength for a girl of her stature. Then again, for a demon, perhaps it was normal.

"I was worried you might not come. That is, not that I think you were lying when you agreed, but, you know, we didn't exactly give you the best welcome the first time..." she trailed off, her last statement punctuated with an awkward laugh and the sound of the door shutting closed behind me, "Sorry about the whole trying to get you killed thing, by the way..."

"Anyways, you're here now, and that's all that matters. Phew, I've really been needing some good news lately, so this is just great!" she continued quickly, grasping my hand in a gentle hold before guiding me deeper into the seemingly empty hotel, toward a very familiar couch.

"Oh, um, where are my manners," she suddenly stated, her smile twisting into a slight frown, "How are you enjoying Hell so far? It's been awhile since we last talked."

"Uh," I began, finally finding my voice, "It's... better than I had imagined Hell to be, at least. Haven't been thrown into a flaming pit and tortured yet, but I'm still crossing my fingers," I muttered, throwing her finger guns before letting out an awkward laugh myself.

"Ha," Charlie's face brightened immediately, "You've got jokes!"

"Too bad the hotel doesn't need a clown," deadpanned Vaggie, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, although the logical option was that she had just been eavesdropping until now.

" _Vaggieee_ ," Charlie addressed her, smile considerably more forced, "Look who's here! Y/N! This is great, right? We can finally start the redemption process now that she's here."

Vaggie glared, arms crossed, face pinched, thoroughly unamused.

"Not until her disguise is put on, we sure as hell aren't. I'm not risking everything for her," Vaggie practically spat.

"Ha, ha... of course, of course," Charlie replied with hand motions similar to someone trying to calm a snarling beast, "But um, I was actually wondering if you could show her around for a bit until I'm done watching over the construction. She caught me at a bit of a bad time."

"Construction?" I questioned, causing Charlie to lead me to another part of the first floor, where a very large, gaping hole, partially repaired, stuck out like a sore thumb on a far wall.

"Oh..." I murmured, not needing any further explanation as to what she meant, watching as a few shady-looking demons meandered around the area, supposedly a construction crew?

"It's been a bit over a month since Pentious destroyed the area, and they're still not finished... And even after Nifty tried to help..." Charlie spoke mostly to herself.

"Wait, _Sir Pentious_ did this?" I asked, voice coming out louder than I had meant.

"He didn't tell you?" Vaggie scoffed, currently moodily leaning against a wall, which was becoming a noticeable habit of hers.

"Yes... We're working on that," I replied meekly, the fact that he hadn't told me not exactly boding well.

"Ok, I'll get back to you later in a bit, sounds good? Thanks Vaggie!" Charlie leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on Vaggie's cheek before practically running to where the commotion was, the sharp noise of something heavy being dropped accenting her exit.

I wondered how it could be so easy for Charlie to just go in for it and kiss Vaggie like that. They seemed so close, and Charlie was so comfortable in the other's presence despite her hot-headed personality. I wondered if Sir Pentious and I would ever be that close, that at ease. Was it strange that I actually wished for it?

Focusing on the present, I noticed that Vaggie had a gentle expression for once, but when she saw that I was staring, I could practically see her unhappiness unfold back onto her face.

"Listen, Vaggie," I began, only to be struck by the death glare she was giving me, "I can tell how much you care about her, how much you want to protect her... I have people I would do _anything_ for, too. I understand so, so I promise I'll do my best here. I promise I'll try to look out for Charlie, too."

I offered an outstretched hand, slightly shaky, but palm-side up, open.

Vaggie looked me up and down, scoffed as she gruffly replied, "You remind me of her."

"And that's a good thing?" I slightly brightened, hoping that maybe she didn't think as poorly of me as I had thought.

She stood up from her perch against the wall, peered at my hand for a second, contemplative, then walked past me, her shoulder barely brushing mine as she left me hanging.

"Not for _you_ , it's not."

As I followed her after she silently beckoned me, not even bothering to look back, I had the dreadful feeling creep up on me that I might not be able to follow through with one of the promises I made today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts!! Thank you for reading!!! Also, if you want a hint for the next chapter... 🥚💬🐍‼️💻💔
> 
> Speculate in the comments?


	19. Absence Makes-s-s the Heart Grow Fonder

Sir Pentious entered through the doors of his estate, accompanied by one less companion and several more troubling thoughts. He was in the foulest of moods, practically feeling his anger bubbling up like venom on the tongue, which he _also_ had an adequate supply of.

"Boss! How'd it go-" piped up one of the many miscreants that you had taken such a liking to.

"It was _fine_ , but I do not want to be bothered for the res-s-st of the day. _Understand?_ " He shouted the last part, practically screeching.

The next thought that came to him was almost reflexive. _You_ would not be happy if you saw him screaming at the eggs. He could even imagine the face you'd give him, disapproving, slightly paled like how you always turned when he lashed out, something that fueled a feeling in his stomach, a feeling that too closely resembled guilt.

Well, you _weren't_ here, now were you? And that was precisely the damnable issue.

The eggs all began to scatter, perhaps surprised at his outburst, which had previously been far more suppressed as of late. He was left alone. Absolutely, positively, alone. His shoulders sagged while his chest slightly heaved from shouting, letting the idea sink in.

"Uh, boss?" squeaked a voice below him, just as he had let down his guard.

Sir Pentious pinched between his eyes, exhaled, then looked down to where an egg boi sat casually on his tail.

_"What. Do. You. Want."_

He was five seconds away from crushing this stupid, defiant subordinate, clenching and unclenching his fist as the itch became stronger. It didn't take long, however, to read the number plastered to the small egg.

" _Twenty-Two_ ," he hissed, _spat_ like a curse.

"That's me!" Twenty-Two replied happily, twiddling his little thumbs, "I was just going to say that I can't actually leave you alone right now."

"And _why_ would that be, if I may as-s-sk," Sir Pentious replied, not really asking at all as much as he was demanding it.

"Well, Miss Y/N told me to watch over you, and I can't exactly do that if I don't-"

"Ohhhh yes-s-s," Pentious suddenly grimaced, reaching down to grab Twenty-Two by the collar of his small suit, lifting him to his eye-level, "Because she just trusts you _oh-s-s-so much_ , doesn't she?"

"I see how you always trail behind her like a scraggly dog. How she always whispers little things to you... Laughs at whatever garish joke you might've said... _Kiss-s-ses your forehead..."_

Twenty-Two had been in the service of Sir Pentious for long enough to spot when he was zoning out, apparent from the way he practically looked past the egg boi, gaze seeming to be fixated on something far away. Far too quickly, he snapped out of it.

"And, and I s-s-saw your smug, putrid grin when you guilt-tripped her into kissing you this morning. The display was horribly disgusting, and you should be as-s-shamed of yourself, you _perverted little cretin."_

He had begun yelling again, shaking the egg up and down with a clenched fist as if he wanted to scramble him. Twenty-Two, while not exactly the wisest creature around, had enough sense to realize that he needed to get the situation under control, and fast.

"You know," the egg began softly, once Pentious had paused for a moment, "Miss Y/N told me that when I get mad at someone else, I should talk about my emotions instead of trying to maul (and/or murder) them. Maybe if you'd like, we could-"

 **"Well, she isn't here right now!"** Pentious boomed, ignoring the crack in his voice and the tightness in his chest.

"And how does that make you _feel?_ " questioned Twenty-Two with a prompting tone, sagely motioning with his tiny hands for the snake to continue.

"Well..." Pentious suddenly calmed for a moment, as if the rather simple question required so much thought that he was no longer able to be angered at the same time, "Frustrated... perhaps... distraught... maybe. I just, I don't like this-s-s change. Wait-"

In mere milliseconds, the snake demon switched back into his previously enraged state, body tense as a wire and words seething from his lips, _"I s-s-see what you are trying to do, you spherically-s-s-shaped Hell spawn."_

"I s-s-should punt you out of that window," he continued, voice a bit more level, but ten times more deadly, shooting daggers at the poor egg with his eyes while pointing at the nearest window threateningly.

"I would uh, prefer if you not, boss," replied Twenty-Two, slightly shaking at this point.

"And why the hell shouldn't I?"

"Well, hmm, Miss Y/N would be pretty upset if you did..."

This caused Pentious to pause, realizing that he definitely wouldn't be gaining any favor from you if he followed through with his threat. He couldn't help but cringe slightly, the mere thought of the face you would give him... Oh, you'd probably cry again. He had absolutely _no_ idea what to do when you started _that_.

He scoffed to himself. Why did he even care? He was evil, after all; he shouldn't be scared of something as ridiculous as that. Ridiculous, that was what this was. Ridiculous in the way he didn't want you to cry, in the way he hung on to every word you ever told him, in the way he couldn't stop replaying the scene that had happened earlier, when you had conked your forehead against his own. It had seemed for a moment, only a second, that you might've been leaning in to...

Ridiculous! He brushed aside the frivolous, _obnoxious_ thought.

"I'll just lie, then. It would be an absolute s-s-shame to tell her the bad news, but the bookshelf you were standing on was rather high when you tripped and fell..." he began to cackle, lecherous grin practically splitting his face, lifting the egg up even higher, in a position that seemed much too close to the wind-up of a throw in Twenty-Two's opinion.

"Wait, please boss," Twenty-Two finally began to panic, small legs flailing in the air.

Pentious fully expected him to beg for his life, feeling a headache starting to come on. It was so annoying when they begged.

"She hates lies."

He faltered, something that was becoming a nasty habit of his.

He inhaled, exhaled, finding that he suddenly had run entirely out of steam. Without a word, he placed Twenty-Two back down safely to the floor, letting his entire body sag with an unnoticed weight that he had been carrying. He wondered if he ever really had the capacity to actually kill the egg boi over the course of their entire conversation.

It worried him quite a bit, mostly because he was almost certain that the answer was " _no_."

"You've grown soft," Sir Pentious scoffed, straightening his tie, brushing off his anger as well as a stray piece of lint from his suit, feigning composure, "We are demons, don't you understand? We do not care about emotions, about telling the truth..."

Twenty-Two wasn't quite sure if his boss was talking to him or out loud to himself, but he decided to listen, worried by the expression ghosting over Pentious's face. He looked awfully dazed.

Pentious began to move through the large space of his home, through a hallway that seemed much more barren than only earlier that day. Passing an almost excessive amount of doors, of empty places collecting dust that only served the purpose of being cleaned by you-

Dear Lucifer, he just couldn't stop coming back to that sore subject. _To you._

"We lie, Twenty-Two," he continued, glancing down only for a second at the egg who was still persistently following him, "We lie and cheat and steal and _hurt_ because we are the very wors-s-st of the worst, the very bastards that would as quickly kick someone while they're s-s-stumbling to get up before ever offering to lend a hand."

He stopped in front of his office door, his study. What a fanciful name for a room that he honestly only used as of late to escape from the alarming thoughts he had been experiencing. Then again, hadn't he just said that he had no need for honesty?

"And the best part?" Pentious forced a cruel smile onto his face, bitter and jagged and biting, just like him, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

" _We_ wouldn't have it any other way. We destroy, we claw, we scrape, we fight to be at the top. And we are never, ever s-s-satisfied. I am never satisfied... That is why we are lucky that she is gone for now. She had become far too large of a distraction for me," he stopped for a moment, catching himself when Twenty-Two gave him a cautious glance, "Ahem, for _us-s-s."_

"It's time that I begin again on our takeover of Hell. Damn it all, past time that I get my head out of the clouds over her. I've grown far too soft..."

He stiffened, once again catching his mistake even as it left his lips, " _You've_ grown far too soft," he scowled at himself, gesturing towards Twenty-Two with an air of indignation.

And with that, he threw open the door to his room, not stopping until he was situated at his work desk, toppling a few blueprints while he was at it.

"Boss, I really don't thin-" the egg demon finally tried to get a word in, only to receive a look that would probably boil him if it became even a fraction more sinister.

"I don't care what you think. Were you even listening? Just hand me a blueprint to work on," Pentious sighed, gesturing to the many that had toppled to the floor.

Twenty-Two complied, deciding that he would be quiet for the remainder of the day as he idly sifted through the stray papers. He noticed that one had rolled underneath his boss's desk, obscured slightly by something protruding from the dark space there. He reached forward to grab the blueprint, getting close enough to become curious of the glint that the object near it let off.

"Here you go, boss man!" Twenty-Two announced, handing Pentious the paper.

"Yes, yes-s-s," he muttered absently, snatching the blueprint, "As long as it isn't another blasted blimp. Don't need to relive _that_ nightmare," he finished with a shutter.

"Hey boss..." the egg boi piped up far too soon for Pentious's liking, eliciting him to stop looking at the papers he was so desperately trying to become interested in.

"What could you pos-s-sibly bother me with this time, hmm?" Sir Pentious began, lifting his gaze from the blueprints to settle on Twenty-Two, "I mean honestly, was-s-s one death-threat simply not enou-"

"What's this?" Twenty-Two asked, lifting up a silver box, slightly ajar and recently polished.

"That, well, ahem," Pentious began to stammer, a blush creeping onto his face, eyes going wide as if he was caught, cornered.

"That is none of your business, and you would do well to drop it."

Twenty-Two, always one who took the more literal side of things in life, proceeded to drop the carefully crafted, delicately adorned box straight to the floor.

Sir Pentious, ever dignified, lurched forward from where he sat, hands haphazardly flung in the air as he grappled for the object, catching it right before it crashed.

"Drop the _s-s-subject_ , Twenty-Two," he began, uttering the last comment with an air of defeat, "the subject."

By every damned soul in all of Hell, Pentious had thought you were a gentle soul, but he was beginning to think you must be a saint to handle such idiotic mannerisms from this egg on a daily basis.

"Ohhhhh, sorry boss," he quipped back, looking not the slightest bit sorry as he reached up once again to try and touch the silver box, "But, uh, what exactly is inside there?"

"It's..." Pentious began.

What was he supposed to say? That he had wasted the last few weeks to make jewelry while he could have used that precious time to construct diabolical plans? That he was crafting a necklace when he could have been snapping necks? That he went as far as to make a little jewelry box for the item, knowing that you had rather enjoyed the last box... That he spent a few days in a heated debate in his mind, not one of warfare or conquer, but exactly which color stone would best compliment your eyes? That he would spend so much time, so much effort, on his _maid?_

No, not maid. He scolded himself almost automatically. He wouldn't debase you to that, not even in his mind. He knew better, knew you were much more than that, knew the truth...

Oh dear, here he was, stuck once again. Stuck on a lie, stuck on a truth, stuck on you. It was exhausting, really. He had thought you a saint. Truly.

Now, he wondered if you were sent as a special sort of punishment, disguised (as all best punishments are) as a blessing, because by the god that disowned his wretched soul, this was the most sickening form of torture he had yet to endure.

_Truly._

"It's just a trinket," he finally finished, voice soft, raw.

"Ah," Twenty-Two nodded, an excited smile playing at his smooth face, "Is it for Miss-"

"Yes, yes-s-s, of course it's for her," Pentious answered quickly enough to prevent the egg from saying your name, not quite knowing why he couldn't bear to hear it right now.

"Then lets bring it to her room! As a surprise, when she gets back! Oh goody, she'll love it, I'm sure, whatever is inside," Twenty-Two replied, jumping slightly up and down, his smile breaking out into a beam.

"I- well, I..." Sir Pentious stuttered, not at all enjoying where this situation was bringing him. He went into his study to distance himself... but it seemed as if this couldn't be helped.

"Blast it all, alright."

With an air of monumental defeat, he removed himself from his chair, clutching the small box tight to his chest, where his heart might've been.

If you couldn't beat the living daylights out of them due to a newfound sense of morality, join them. Wasn't that the saying? Truth be told, he was still getting used to modern slang, although he often feigned knowledge on the subject. Didn't matter. All that was important in this moment was to ignore the rambling egg beside him, drop off the box, and finally, _finally_ , return to his work. 

He was able to remain focused until he stopped at the foot of your bedroom door. He hesitated for only a moment, scoffing at himself for his squeamishness at entering your private chambers. They weren't actually yours, after all. The whole estate was his, so he should have had no qualms or worries about invading the cozy space. Yes, not at all, he thought as he cleared his throat, finally going past the threshold.

He hadn't been inside your room since the night he had given you your last present, but despite the fact that it wasn't nighttime, not much had changed. In fact, he noticed it was rather barren, save for a few books you had stacked up on your dresser, probably taken from the library. You must have sat on your bed in the morning, while getting ready. He could see the small wrinkles on the left corner of it, disrupting the otherwise tightly tucked sheets. He touched lightly at the bedpost nearest to him, drawing back just as quickly, as if worried you might notice even the slightest change to your room, the slightest hint he had lingered there.

"Well, no need to dawdle, let's-s-s be in and out," Pentious stated sharply, clapping his hands together, jostling the box tucked into the corner of his elbow.

"Yessir," Twenty-Two replied right back, preoccupied with messing with a book you must've dropped on the floor, "But what if we hide it somewhere in here? That way, it would be an even bigger surprise! A surprise inside a surprise."

The egg paused, small eyes squinting together in concentration before he popped up with a triumphant grin on his face.

"It would be a... _a double surprise!!"_

Sir Pentious, for whatever reason, decided to humor him. This was for your sake, he thought idly to himself. After all, Twenty-Two had kinda sold him with his pitch.

"Ah, double s-s-surprise it is then, I suppose," Pentious sighed, making a point to trip the small egg with his tail before wandering to where your dresser cabinet was.

It seemed like an adequate enough place to "hide" your little gift. Fitting, really, as you had already placed the music box on the top of the piece of furniture. Had you polished it? He tried to look closer without seeming too interested. He knew that Twenty-Two probably blabbered everything to you. It certainty hadn't picked up any dust. Did you use it often? He lightly shook his head, wondering why he felt as if that mattered.

Opening up the first drawer, he was surprised to find it empty. He made a mental note to go and buy some more things to furnish your little space. It would be useless to hide the box in plain sight, however, so he opened the next drawer. Socks? Clothing? He peered deeper, noticing something strange, something... odd.

He picked up a small article of cloth, which, in the span of two seconds, he realized what it was, then threw it back into the drawer as if it were as hot as a flame from Hell. To note, from personal experience, he knew that those flames were extremely hot.

Pentious whipped his head to the only witness there, horrified to see that the egg was staring at him.

"And you called _me_ perv-"

_"S-s-shut up, shut up, shut up!"_

Sir Pentious hurriedly slammed closed the offensive underwear drawer, opening the first one while placing the jewelry box inside with a single motion. He then proceeded to haul ass and run out of there like a bat out of Hell, or in this case, a snake out of a woman's bedroom.

As usual, Twenty-Two was not far behind.

"Not a word," Pentious continued, seeing the smug look on the egg's face as he rushed to a nearby wall, resting his back against it, one hand over his face like that of a swooning lady.

"I just, well, wasn't thinking, I s-s-suppose," he continued, "How was I to know that's where her... her... well, where _those_ were going to be?"

"Uh, lots of demons have an underwear drawer, boss, but uh, easy mistake?" Twenty-Two attempted to comfort as he mimicked the forlorn snake beside him, propping a small foot as he leaned against the wall.

"Well, _I_ don't! I'm not s-s-sure if it's processed through your tiny little brain or whatever cavity it is presently absent from, but I don't wear undergarments. _I'm a snake for s-s-shits sake."_ Pentious, never one for theatrics, punctuated this by slowly sinking down the wall, ending with a rather defeated bow of his head as he sat on the floor, next to an egg, pants-less.

"Wow," Twenty-Two finally spoke up, "Then you really are a perv..."

Sir Pentious groaned from his self-made cocoon on the ground.

Twenty-Two sneezed.

"What has my life come to? She's gone for-" Pentious abruptly checked his pocket watch, fetching it out of his suit, "one hour and two minutes, and I'm reduced to this, to such a s-s-sight. Ridiculed by my subordinates, debased to a lowly ruffian... This-s-s, this is _bogus_. I have far too many questions to ask, and not one single way of figuring them out..."

Pentious suddenly whipped his head up, struck with an idea. Popping up from the floor, he bolted for a room in a far corner of the estate, one you had yet to even clean, let alone discover.

"Hurry, now, I may need your assistance," Sir Pentious beckoned a hand for Twenty-Two to follow, although at this point, it would be surprising if he didn't, anyway.

"Where are we going?" the egg breathlessly asked, tottering after his boss.

"Here," Pentious stopped in front of a door, his voice lowering a considerable pitch, reverent and solemn, "Into my worst trial yet- the compute air room."

"You... you mean the computer room?"

"Yes, that's what I said you twit."

Pentious cautiously entered, almost as cowed from the prospect of having to use the blasted, confusing machine as he was to enter your room. Creating intricate mechanisms? A breeze. Constructing instruments of mass destruction? Child's play. Surfing the web?

It was a suicide mission.

But of course, he had to feign control, power. 

"Now," Pentious began, seating himself in front of his foe, wiping a thin film of dust that had already gathered from his last battle with this beast, "Shall we browse the net of webs? Ha, how devious of me." He forced out a laugh.

He fetched out of his pocket a pair of glasses, putting them on before squinting when the bright, artificial light of the monitor flickered on with a press of a button. He prided himself in having a computer of the best caliber, rather new, only dating back to around 1990. He opened what he had learned to be called a "web browser," fittingly called Internet Explorer. He brace himself, ready to do some exploring.

"Alright, how do I... open a tablet on this device?" Pentious asked Twenty-Two, not tearing his gaze from the small letters on the screen.

"A tablet?" asked Twenty-Two, visibly confused as he hopped onto the table, eyeing the computer.

"Yes-s-s, like one of these I had before," Pentious fussily replied, painstakingly slowly moving his cursor to click on each of the tabs he had open.

_Is "cash money" really out of style?_  
_How to be a rad sk8r boy_  
_How to cope with emotions that have been foreign to you for literal centuries_

The search engine's words seemed to ring out from the monitor, despite the dead silence that pierced the room. Pentious, without a word, deleted the last tab and scrolled onto the next, not even daring to look Twenty-Two in the face.

_Top ten epic gamer fails_

"Ah. I s-s-seem to remember now. Here we are," Pentious hurriedly continued, creating a new tab for his purposes, "Now, will all of Hell's information at my fingertips through this machine, I may finally find what I'm looking for. The answers-s-s... I just need to ask the right questions..."

He leaned back in his chair, thinking hard, wondering what it was that he even came here to truly do. He looked toward the only other person in the room.

"What do you think of all this?" he asked, voice soft.

"Well boss," Twenty-Two placed a small hand on his shoulder, matching the gentleness of his boss's voice, "I thought we were here to order you a pair of pants on eBay, but reading the room right now, I'm kinda thinking this is about something else."

"Yes, yes-s-s it is, Twenty-Two," Pentious replied meekly, brushing off the offending hand from his person.

"In that case, let's thing about this thing, logically," the egg suddenly said with enthusiasm as he laced his fingers together, ready to brainstorm, "You want to know why you can't focus, right? Why you can't stop thinking about Miss Y/N, or why you feel weird when she's not here! Well... I have a hypothesis."

Twenty-Two paused, for dramatic effect.

"What if," he continued, a smile breaking across his face as he absorbed Pentious's intrigued gaze, "What if you've.. Well, if you've fallen in-"

 _"If I've fallen ill??"_ Pentious perked up, eyes alight, "Yes, that must be it. How was I so blind? You little devil, you, by God (that bastard), you might be on to s-s-something."

He eagerly typed into the computer, Medical evaluation, and after scrolling through results consisting mainly of porn featuring actors dressed as nurses, he found a site that might just help him. Twenty-Two watched from the side, wondering how someone so smart could be so dumb. After a rather extensive list of questions, Pentious finally received a diagnosis.

"Hmm... stomach ulcers, a cold, and... aha, terminal cancer," Pentious squinted as he read the results, then closed his eyes.

"I- I'm not actually sick, am I?" he stated out loud, more to himself than to anyone else, really.

"Sir," Twenty-Two said quietly, "Could it maybe be because you... because you are in love with Y/N?"

Pentious's eyes shot open. "I-" he was about to reply quickly, but abruptly stopped. Stared. Blinked. Stared some more.

Love? He had never felt such a stupid emotion before. How could he know? And why, why would he start with such nonsense now? It was far too late to have any feelings for someone when he was already in Hell, already cast against the rocky shore and left to rot or to die once more. He did not like this answer. It wasn't what he wanted. It only left more questions in its wake, more things that he somehow knew a dusty computer could never answer for him. He did not like this answer, but he knew it was the truth.

"...yes."

The reaction was immediate. Twenty-Two practically sprang into the air, clapping his hands together as his little body wobbled in excitement.

"This is wonderful!" he cheered, already thinking about asking to be the best man, or, at the very least, the ring-bearer.

Sir Pentious groaned for the second time that day, already thinking about how horribly he messed up to allow himself to become like this, and how much more horrible it could become.

"This is-s-s _terrible_."

Twenty-Two stopped his bumbling, looking down to where Pentious had flung his arms onto the desk, head down in misery. He realized the dilemma rather quickly, deciding from that moment forward that he would take up a role that the egg has waited for his entire life.

He was going to be the ultimate wingman- er- egg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Been awhile! Please check out these amazing artists who have made fan art of this story! I love each and every art piece; they are all so incredibly talented!!
> 
> @senpaihan on Wattpad
> 
> @anrililia on Wattpad 
> 
> @missmonstar has posted this on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6EJ3v9H_qq/
> 
> Sir Pentup has posted this on tumblr: https://sir-pentup.tumblr.com/post/189400394694/now-dont-be-foolish-dear-im-many-things-but
> 
> Artomic Muffin has posted this on Twitter and Tumblr: https://artomicmuffin.tumblr.com/post/189400950922/i-posted-this-on-twitter-and-forgot-to-put-it-on
> 
> Thank you all once again for the beautiful art, and please support them! If I missed anyone or if anyone would like to send any art, please let me know! I intend to mention artists at the end of each chapter! 
> 
> Lastly, I'd like to apologize for taking so long with this last chapter. As a senior in high school, my life is really changing right now, and I have a lot on my plate, but I thank each and every one of you who comment on my work, leave lovely messages, or just read it in general! I hope you all stay safe and healthy during this time of turmoil, and I love y'all. 💕
> 
> P.S. Next chapter hint: 🏨🍓


	20. Things Go Down (When Going Up)

"Ah, um," I began to sputter, finding it hard to speak with a mouthful of fabric as Vaggie haphazardly tried to squeeze a random hoodie she had found in a nearby closet over my head.

"Shut up, I'm trying to get your arms through these stupid-ass tiny sleeve holes," Vaggie responded agitatedly, face pinched in concentration, and probably also annoyance.

"I'm not sure this is going to work. Is this- is this children's clothes?" I continued, voice muffled with the thick cloth of the offending article.

Vaggie huffed. "It used to be Charlie's clothes, back when she was a little kid. You're relatively short, compared to normal demons around here, so I thought..." she scoffed once more, ceasing her onslaught for a moment as she inspected the cardboard box she had trudged out of storage with a cynical eye.

It read in plain letters: Charlie's First Baby Outfits, Years 1-4, punctuated with a cute, sharpie-written heart.

"Hmm, maybe a little _too_ far back, huh," she finally grunted, placing a finger to her cheek as if in contemplation.

It took me a little while to respond, preoccupied with shrugging off the hoodie that Vaggie had squeezed my head into by sheer spite and willpower.

"Well, what do you think we should do, now?" I asked with the most unoffensive voice I could muster, finally tossing the baby clothes back into the box, trying my best to casually pat down my now-ruffled hair.

"You're gonna need something to hide," Vaggie paused a minute, gesturing to my whole body with a dismissive wave of her hand, "all of that. I'm surprised you hadn't been caught sooner, honestly. You stick out like a sore thumb with all your... uh, _humanness_."

"Ha, thanks?" I awkwardly laughed, instantly regretting it when Vaggie only responded with a bored, deadpan look.

She already started walking toward another ominous looking door, probably another closet. There was a certain deliberateness in her step, the way her shoulders squared, the way she held her head up with a sort of serious gravity. I followed along quickly, realizing that I would gain no favors from trying to lighten the mood.

"There has to be a decent enough outfit to hide your face. Maybe we could get some fake horns or something? Charlie is crazy to think that you can just go wandering around like that... I wonder if-" she was mumbling to herself at his point, having already opened the closet door, rummaging through an assortment of what could only be called junk.

I tried to help for about five seconds, but Vaggie quickly swatted me away, letting out another curse under her breath as she continued her search. I leaned against the wall, a few cautious feet distanced from her, closing my eyes for a moment as I felt embarrassment lightly tint my cheeks. This was an awful lot of work she was going through, just for me. I wondered how I could fall into good graces with a person like her, but I supposed it didn't really matter. I was in Hell, after all. Not everyone was bound to like me. Maybe I just got lucky, ending up with someone like Sir Pentious. It took awhile, but I could firmly say by now that he was much better company than this lady-

My eyes popped open when I felt something tug my pant leg. I looked down. Correction, _someone_ tugged my pant leg.

The next few seconds were a blur of this small person speaking at a rate that I had previously thought impossible.

" _Oh hey, you're a new face, aren't cha'? I'm Nifty! Wait a second, are you a human? Like a real one, that's alive and all that? Oh boy, I just gotta know, what are the men looking like up there? It's been awhile since I've been, well, ya know, not a demon, so I really need an update. Oh, sorry, that's rude, huh? I didn't even ask if you have a boyfriend- Omigosh, I mean what your name is! Mine's Nifty, did I mention that? I actually saw you earlier, trying on that weird looking hat a few minutes ago from across the room. Do you just have like, a strangely large head or something? Is that normal now for humans?"_

By all things holy, I swear on my life she said that with one single intake of breath. Understandably, I was the tiniest bit frazzled.

"Yes, I'm a human... Umm... the men are still very, ah, men?" I petered off for a moment, trying to remember what else she asked, "No boyfriend, my name is Y/N, and as far as I know, my head is about average sized. At least, I would hope," I finished with a nervous chuckle.

Nifty blinked her strangely enormous and cutesy eye at me before bursting out in giggles.

"You're funny!" she smiled widely, giving me a generous glimpse of her razor-sharp teeth, out of place from her dainty proportions.

"Nifty!" Vaggie suddenly jumped out of the closet, flinging an old t-shirt from her shoulder but missing the sock that had nestled it's way into her hair, "I need you to do me two favors," she continued in a rush.

Nifty's doll-like body shifted to where Vaggie was, balancing her weight from left foot to right, as if unable to cease moving from her frantic energy.

"First off, you cannot tell anyone we have a human in the hotel, got it?"

Nifty nodded excitedly, clasping her hands together.

"Second off, I'm gonna need you to tailor an outfit for our new... staff member. Something that will make it a little less obvious that she's not supposed to be here, if you get the point," Vaggie concluded, crossing her arms together.

"A wardrobe dilemma? Oh, of course!" Nifty's excitement ten-folded instantaneously at the mere mention of clothes, setting her frantic sight solely on me, "Dear, we'll have to scrap this whole outfit. It just positively clashes, and those shoes."

I looked down, noticing that they were pretty scuffed as Nifty proceeded to pick apart my entire look with a ironically sweet tone in her voice.

"This is," I finally butted in, "This is the nicest clothes I've ever had." I continued to inspect my shoes, not wanting to show the small demon that my face at least matched the color of the walls, even if (apparently) my shirt did not go well with my pants.

Nifty gasped, pulling away as if stung, "This is worse than I thought. Come with me."

I wasn't given much of a choice as she pulled me along to another room, placing me in the middle of it as she insisted I stay still. Vaggie lingered around me before settling into a nearby chair, temporarily placated due to the promised accomplishment of a proper disguise.

"So what are we-"

"You just relax right here, yep," Nifty said quickly, pulling out an assortment of measuring tapes from a nearby drawer.

Looking closer, I realize she had ushered me into what seemed to be an impromptu tailor's workshop. It was small, but extremely orderly, rolls of fabric stacked neatly on a nearby shelf, each cabinet labeled with its purpose and supplies.

"I'm just going to take a few measurements; should just take a moment," Nifty continued as she proceeded to move me every which way with small tugs and pulls, making quick work of an absurd amount of measurements.

At first glance, it seemed she was haphazardly conducting her actions on a whim, but after closer inspection, I noticed how her meticulousness branched into how she moved. Yes, she was quick, but precise.

"I've never been to a tailor before, let alone measured for an outfit..." I couldn't help the small smile making its way onto my face, suddenly a bit bashful at all of the attention, "Thank you, Nifty."

"Oh, don't worry about it! I love doing this. Much better than trying to fix that mess," her voice became considerably more harsh when stating that last bit, a noticeable twitch in her eye, "that those brutes are attempting to fix because of that mean snake man."

I laughed, despite myself, "He can be pretty mean sometimes, huh." I leaned down for a moment, getting close to Nifty's ear as if sharing a secret, "You know, I heard that he's really just a big baby. Total drama queen. Lots of self-esteem problems."

Nifty's eye widened as she placed a hand to her mouth, giggling again. "Ohhh, _really_?" she asked, beginning once again to take more measurements.

I nodded sagely.

My gaze wandered over to Vaggie as I mentally high-fived myself for my humor, brain doing a metaphorical flip in my skull when I noticed that she was playing on her phone.

On her phone.

"Hey Vaggie?" I asked lightly, trying to feign a neutral expression.

"What," she replied, not looking up from her phone.

"I didn't realize... Well, I haven't gotten out of Sir Pentious's estate much since I got here. Are phones like, a normal thing in Hell?"

At this point, Nifty had made me shift my head to face forward three times already, so I settled with trying to roll my eyes to the other side of my head to get a look at Vaggie's face, but I could definitely hear the loud sigh she let out.

"Did you think phones just magically poofed out of existence when you got to Hell? Not sure if you're up to speed, but shitty people have died since they've been invented."

"I just thought- I assumed that was a punishment or something. You could only use old technology because it was less fun? So... so Sir Pentious is just really, really out of date with things, not just slang..." I began to mumble that last part to myself, thinking out loud.

I mean, here I was, a month into this Hell shit and resigned to never being able to mindlessly scroll through social media again, just to hear that the only reason I hadn't gotten my grubby fingers on an electronic device was because my boss refused to ever tell me internet was a possibility here. I tried not to look as hurt as I felt. Yes, this was petty, but I think I had been through enough shit so far to get a free pass this time.

This seemed to stir Vaggie, if only a little.

"Are you really that surprised dip shit?" she began her argument tastefully, "I mean, Pentious is an idiot."

My brows furrowed unintentionally. Yea. Sure. He's an idiot. But at this point, I considered him my idiot, and only I could say it.

"He's not all bad. He's really good at making things, even without computers and phones," I retorted with a tone more defensive than I intended.

"Bet if he even has a computer, he'd use some old shit like _Internet Explorer_ or some crap," Vaggie murmured from her place in her chair.

I opened my mouth to rebut her claim, but closed it after a second. God dammit, she was probably one hundred percent right.

"All finished!" Nifty suddenly piped up, punctuating her statement with a giggly twirl of her poodle skirt.

I finally relaxed my body, stretching a bit from standing still for so long.

"So, Y/N, what were you thinking for your new style?" Nifty continued, not giving me much time to decompress, "It has to be something classy. I mean, lots of respectable demons wear classy clothes, right? How about..." her eyes lit up, "A ball gown?"

I inwardly cringed. Nothing again dresses, but a full-blown ball gown might be the teensiest bit difficult to walk around in constantly.

"What about... something a little more movable in?" I hesitantly asked, knowing that I was getting this outfit for free and not wanting to sound picky.

"Oh, a suit it is, then!" Nifty jumped up and down with vigor. I just laughed.

"Well that sounds great," Vaggie began to walk up to us, not sounding as if she felt this was great one bit, "But how is that going to hide that she's a human?"

"Oh, don't worry, silly! I'll make her a nice hat, that's why I did all those head measurements!" she turned her gaze to me, "By the way, turns out your head is a normal size! And no lumps or anything!" She turned back to Vaggie, "Anyway, if I try and use some makeup on her, I bet we can turn her into a demon in no time!"

I was suddenly dragged down to a sitting position by the hyper-active demon. She made quick work of grabbing what I assumed was her personal stash of makeup, attacking my poor, unguarded face.

"Hmm, didn't think of that," Vaggie leaned over the shoulder of Nifty, who was inching ever more uncomfortably closer to my person.

I stifled a cough from the alarming amount of product she was applying while trying to decide if the spectacle I must've been at that moment was laughable or enough to mourn over. Having gained a certain amount of humor from this entire ordeal, I opted for the former.

"How do you like it?" Nifty asked me with a certain air of accomplishment, thrusting a mirror in my face.

I looked like I was all ready for Halloween. While I still hadn't completely warded off my dark circles from before, Nifty had made them extremely prominent, now. Deathly so. She had matched my lips to the color of my skin, making them as pale as a corpse's, and the natural blush of my cheeks was entirely missing.

"It's..." I started. Alarming? A bit unnerving? "It definitely does its job."

"Oh goody! You know, I think it suits you!" she enthusiastically replied.

"It's..." Vaggie began, squinting her eyes with a slight tilt of her head, "It's definitely better than nothing... Alright, let's hurry up and get that tour Charlie wants you to have over with. Thank you, Nifty."

I uttered a quick thank you to Nifty as well, having to hurry since Vaggie had already started walking toward the front of the large building once more. I couldn't help but look around at the gothic architecture. It was similar to Sir Pentious's house, maybe a tad more modern compared to his Victorian-era motif. Less yellow accents, more red. The stain glass of the front door was amazing-

I bumped into Vaggie's back with a small "oof" as she suddenly halted.

She turned, pinching the bridge of her nose and letting out a small grunt in annoyance. At first, I assumed that anger was directed at me, but the way she clutched her phone and seemed ready to throw it made me think it may be something else.

"Charlie needs help wrangling the construction crew. Apparently they don't know _how to do their freaking jobs_ ," she began to yell before visibly calming herself, "So you'll have to hold tight."

She looked around a bit, as if searching for a place to put me.

"I still think the first floor is a bit dangerous for you to be roaming around in..." she began, settling her gaze on what looked to be an old-timey elevator, pointing at it.

"Just go up to the second floor and wait for me there. Don't open any rooms. Hands to yourself." 

I decided to ignore the patronizing tone she gave me, instead opting to give her a thumbs up and a hesitant smile. "Don't worry, I think I can handle that."

Vaggie rolled her eyes, begrudgingly returning my gesture before sprinting away, leaving me alone.

It was strange, being unaccompanied out in the open for once. I took a deep breath, feeling a bit giddy from the small amount of freedom. If it wasn't Vaggie bossing me around, Pentious would be with me, and if not him, an egg boi. I fully understood how strange and dangerous Hell was, but it could be suffocating at times, not having my own autonomy. I walked up to the elevator, a tad more pep in my step than usual.

The up button made a small click when I pressed it, followed by a deep, shuttering noise from the creaky doors as they opened. Walking in, I realized how large the hotel was when I noticed the many buttons labeled with each floor number. I wondered if I'd eventually become acquainted with each floor, wondered if there was any possibility one day all the rooms would be filled in this otherwise hollow hotel. With the click of the second floor button, the doors to the elevator began to close.

I closed my own eyes for a moment, preparing for the inevitable lurch in my stomach when the old thing would finally start lifting. It was because of this that I did not see him at first, so much as hear him.

The faint sound of static, prickling at my ears.

My eyes shot open, just in time to see long, slender fingers clutch at one side of the closing door, wrenching it open. I lunged to stop it, but it was too late, the gesture instead only bringing me face to face with the demon leaning down to my height.

" _Darling!_ " Alastor exclaimed, drawing out the syllables, making my heart drop, "What a small, small world, wouldn't you agree?"

I backed up as he walked into the small space, gauging for a moment if I could maybe slip past him, wanting to be anywhere but in an elevator with him. As if reading my thoughts, he stood firmly in my way, leaning slightly on his cane as he looked down at me.

The elevator doors closed with a creaky sound that echoed a sense of finality.

I gulped.

"Hello," was all I could attempt to respond with, too focused on not letting down my guard.

"Ah, that's a good look on you!" he began, ignoring my greeting to instead gesture to my face, "Doing a trial run before committing to the full thing?" He chuckled, toothy smile widening.

"No- no, I... Nifty did this to make me blend in more," I replied, unsettled by his statement, "That's all."

I felt the sudden need to wipe off all the caky makeup, feeing foolish, like a child caught playing dress-up in clothes that were far too large and ill-fitting. Here I was mimicking a shadow of what constituted a demon when the real thing, as dreadful and unsettling and eerie as he was, was standing right in front of me.

"You've met Nifty already?" he asked like someone who already knew the answer beforehand, "How marvelous! She's a dear companion of mine, you know."

"No... I didn't know," I replied softly, wondering how in the world Nifty could be linked to the demon in front of me. Besides the smile, I really couldn't find any similarities.

"Oh, but really, it's only natural that you bumped into her, I'm sure," Alastor continued on, his voice dropping an octave when he made his next statement, "We're much the same, you and I."

The elevator doors began to creak open.

"That's my-" I began, cut short when I saw what he did next.

Without hesitation, Alastor fluidly swung the back of his cane, the end connecting with the very highest floor button. It would take at least ten minutes to get all the way to the top, I realized as a thin film of sweat began to gather on my body.

There was no way to get through him, to reach the door before it shut again. I looked up into his eyes. They teased me, dared me to even try, red and flashing like warning signals.

"We, we're not the same at all," I began, my temper rising with my voice, "You're just a big bully." My last word was punctuated with the rattle of closed doors.

"You wound me, dear!" Alastor's voice was too loud for the small elevator, the wild gesture he was making with his arms as he feigned grief only adding to my discomfort, "And here I thought we were two puppeteers, two old pals..." He let his last word come out in a drawl.

"Puppet-" I shook my head lightly, "What do you mean, 'puppeteer?'"

He drew closer again, clasping my shoulder in a cold grip, leaning in as if sharing a secret. "Ah, you know. I'll be honest, doll, you really had me at first, when we met. I thought to myself... Alastor, why in the world would little old Y/N not want to get rid of her nasty problem with staying down here?"

He chuckled as he continued, such a weird sound, when muffled with static, "Then it hit me! Oh, you couldn't pull the wool over this old sinner, dearest! You _want_ to stay here."

I wretched myself away from him, tired of balancing on his precarious wire of unspoken limits, "I do _not_ want to stay here."

Alastor smiled, as if pleased that he was able to agitate me. The static in the background became louder. He placed a hand on his cheek, his head tilting slightly to the side, inspecting, calculating.

"Well, no need to get so worked up," he clicked his tongue, "I thought it rather obvious... That's why you abandoned your family, right? So you wouldn't have to live, to grovel on earth anymore. I understand, dear, no need to cover it up. We must take what we need from others to keep trudging onward, after all."

"I-" my voice was shaking with rage, with emotion, "I didn't abandon them. I saved them. I, I got them a fortune. They're happy now. They're- they're happy. Of course I want to see them. Of course I-" I was stuttering at this point, staring down at trembling hands before placing them on each ear. The static had become irritatingly loud.

Alastor's eyes never softened, but his smile did as he slid down to one knee, still not quite eye-level with me, not at all less alarming.

"Oh now, now," he fretted again, surprisingly soothing, "You're perfectly fine leaving them behind. Look at yourself, dear, you've been rather successful in Hell, haven't you? Treated with nice clothing, doted on by Pentious, you've even gotten yourself a spot in the Hazbin Hotel! You fooled them all, Y/N. They even believe you can redeem these damned souls here." Alastor patted my cheek, smile splitting into a grin when his palm smeared the tears gathering in my eyes.

"That's not true. _Please_ , stop," the piercing sound of static rang out like a train whistle. I couldn't bear to look at Alastor, instead opting to turn my head to the left. I met my distorted reflection in the gold paneling of where the elevator buttons rested.

I screamed.

My face had contorted into something unrecognizable, something evil. I looked like a corpse, teeth jagged and yellowed, eyes bloodshot and unnatural in color, a white film covering them. _What, what had I become?_

"Yes, it is true," Alastor's palm directed my vision back to him, "I know it's true because you said so yourself, didn't you? A wolf in sheep's clothing, that's all you'll ever be," his voice became distorted, combining with the grating hum of static, morphing into something sinister, "Mangy and ragged and half-starved for power-"

I slipped my hands down, down to my sides, where I had somehow sunken down to a crouch. My fingers fumbled for something in my panic. They rested on metal.

My arm swung wide, taking moments, seconds, to connect my dagger to the demon in front of me.

His hand caught my wrist, the tip of the blade centimeters from his chest. He squeezed, hard, and I almost dropped it.

"It, it was a reflex," I choked out, not even able to notice how the static had faded considerably, "I'm sorry."

Alastor let go of my wrist, taking his time as he eventually took the dagger from my hand. I didn't dare look him in the eye.

"Hmm," his voice was level, "This is exactly my point," he laughed at this, gesturing to the tip of the blade, amused at his pun.

I let out a broken sob.

I sat there, still as stone as he handed me back my knife, going as far as closing my fingers around it with his own, chuckling when I flinched as the cold metal bit lightly into my palm.

"Best keep that hidden away again," Alastor stood up, talking more to himself than at me at this point, "Kept in the shoe... that's resourceful..." he muttered.

I tucked the dagger back into its hiding spot, daring to glance again at my reflection. It was normal, besides the fact that my heavy eyeshadow had smeared and formed traces of my tears. I was paler, but I was human.

The elevator doors slid open, yet we were only three quarters of the way up.

"Where the hell have you been?" Vaggie fumed as she stood in front of the open doors, arms crossed, posture rigid.

It was the loveliest sight I'd ever seen, at least at the moment. I bolted right out of the enclosed space, clutching onto Vaggie's thin arm for dear life.

"What, uh," Vaggie began, before processing that Alastor was there, too. "You," she growled, that one singular statement turning the efforts of her anger all toward him.

"Me?" he lifted a hand, as if offended, "I was only catching up with a friend. Even you couldn't draw any nefariousness from that, could you?"

"At any rate, I'm awfully busy now. No more time to chat," he continued, the doors beginning to close shut, "Oh, but one more thing, Y/N!"

"Remember not to bite the hand that feeds you, pet."

The doors shut. He was gone.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y’all! Been awhile! I loved, loved, loved the Hazbin Hotel episode!! As always, please feel free to comment on my work!! I love all the words you guys are so kind to say!! Hope you enjoyed! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️


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